First Dead, Second Chance
by SoaringHawk257
Summary: People never get second chances, especially at life. Once someone's dead, they're dead. Well... I got a second chance. I'm Ke'ri, about to embark a journey to find my exact purpose in life, while fighting a war. It's frustrating that I can't figure out why fate gave me this second chance, but I've got a dragon to kill and a swordsman to find.
1. Second Chance

**AN: Well, I had this idea nagging in the back of my mind. I've never really played Fire Emblem, but I've watched so many play-throughs (I just want to play the game!) to get the point of what happens (the closest game I've played to Awakening was Shadow Dragon, which isn't very close at all... but similar... I hope...).**

 **So, I had an idea about if Ke'ri, the girl that Lon'qu was friends with, came back to life. I looked around to see if anyone typed anything of the sort, but I didn't see anything about this. So enough of that... I am going to write my version of this, and I'm going to try my best.**

* * *

Bright light...

 _Where am I? Who am I?_

 ** _Ke'ri is your name,_ ** I heard someone say.

I forced myself to open my eyes, seeing that I was all alone in a field. Long, green grass surrounded me. Dragonflies raced around in the air, while butterflies lazed around and rested on flowers. Birds overhead soared in the sky, a bright blue with few wispy clouds in the air. The sun shone overhead, brighter than anything. Squinting, I stood up shakily. My legs protested as I made them move after what seemed like an eternity.

I thought I died, protecting that swordsman who I called my best friend. But why am I here again?

 ** _You are here because you have a mission,_** a voice said. I almost jumped, my eyes widening in surprise.

"Who is this?"

 ** _I am your spirit guardian, Lena._**

 _"Lena... as in one of Marth's allies? The great Hero-King's ally?"_

 ** _I am the Lena which you talk about. Yes, you are correct. But the focus is your journey._**

 _"Oh, right. But, wow! A legend! ... What kind of journey do you have for me? Is that why I was... reborn?"_

 ** _Right again. What you must do first is head for the village you see over there. Along the way, I will tell you of what powers you possess other than sword-fighting._**

Other powers... Wow, really? That would be so cool!

As I headed towards the only village in sight, Lena told me that I had elemental powers as well as just sword fighting. I was a special myrmidon, in fact.

I reached in the bag I had on my right side, and I pulled out three tomes. They all happened to have indecipherable words that I couldn't read. It happened to be a very old Thunder, Fire, and Wind tome. And supposedly, I had light magic, except I was not strong enough to use it. In fact, I knew very little about magic, but Lena the spirit told me that I would advance very quickly and be a magic expert as well.

I reached the village, and found a man who was named the Speaker. He gave a tour around the old village. It was near the border of Ylisse, but still in Plegia, isolated in the middle of nowhere. It has been about six years ago when I died, according to the time it was now. Ylisse and Plegia are now in war. Before, the two countries have never really gotten along so well, and everybody in Chron'sin was anticipating the violence to break out anytime soon, like a dam of water about to give in and burst.

"But I've heard that the Shepherds are coming to free the land. They haven't reached here, but the very thought of them gives us fear. The Shepherds are our hope, you see." the Speaker had said to me.

At a nearby, cheap inn, I rested there for a few nights, getting various dreams.

 _"Ke'ri?" a familiar man asks, a look of shock on his face. "Is it really... you?"_

The scene keeps going on and on in my head, yet I could only hear his voice. Everything was blurred, so it was frustrating to see. It must have been the future, I think. It was going to happen. I know it. The dream kept appearing in my head, over and over, yet slightly varying in different ways. Because of that, I was anxious to see who was really speaking to me.

The seventh day I was reborn, an attack almost devastated the village. I decided to practice the strange art of sword fighting that I had. My blade would envelop in magic power, and I would defeat enemies with ease. And spirit Lena was right: I was getting better with each time I fought another enemy. I had gotten a little more familiar of how I could fight.

 _Open the book, focus your mind, channel the power through your sword, attack..._

The steps were listed out in my head as I did that over and over again. It was actually easy, to my surprise. I also had a new ability called 'Sol'. Lena told me that I could revive some health after I attacked.

By the end of the battle, several of our own village soldiers were killed, some shops and houses destroyed. Smoke rose in the air of the enemies called Risen throwing torches at our houses. I cringe at the sight of them and their bloodied swords or claws. Too many lives had already been lost if this happened for so many villages...

Speaker came out and acknowledged the remaining soldiers.

"Today, we have encountered tragedy. But we must learn to move on. We must rebuild the village, and have faith in protecting in the little we have left. We must stay strong. And we have been blessed with our new swordswoman here. Thank Naga for our savior."

 _"I'm not a savior... I only helped fight!"_ I wanted to say, but the village women and children all gave me their gratitude.

I still had nagging thoughts at the back of my mind.

 _"Who are the Shepherds? Why was I really reborn? What is my purpose in the world?"_

 ** _Those questions, my friend, will be answered in time..._**

* * *

 **AN: So that's my first chapter of my first Fire Emblem story on ! I hope you enjoyed it. Please review, and make a few suggestions.**

 **This is also a Lon'qu x Ke'ri story, starting off in the Plegia war.**

 **Thank you so much for reading!**


	2. Silent Swordsman

**AN: Here is the second chapter. I have to say that I am extremely excited for this story!**

* * *

Rebuilding the ruins of the village happened to be a pain because of the lack of resources around (since there was a recent drought, trees had died, and there was not much wood to use, and water had become scarce), but another attack had sent the recovering village into further damages and desperation. I fared perfectly well, as these Risen were not that hard to defeat anymore. But the soldiers were dying. One by one, they disappeared with the Risen. Even some women in the village tried to defend their children, as they were very worried about the future of the village. The village was already as small enough as it was, and not many village soldiers were there anymore. About half of the so-called army they had was no more, destroying many families and only leaving grief in its wake.

But not all was to be given up yet.

On the fifth attack against our village, with wonders of how we even survived the other three that happened recently, a miracle had happened.

"Shepherds, attack!" As I fight a Risen, I see a group of people, in all sorts of fighting styles, leap in and fight, protecting any stranded villagers. The person who had shouted the command was the blue-haired man. I believe his name was Chrom. He was known all over Plegia for being the leader of the Shepherds. Not only that, he was brother to the Exalt of Ylisse, who had just sacrificed herself to save the Fire Emblem and her people.

A quick scan told me there was Chrom, a man with white hair and a black robe, a brown-haired pegasus rider, as well as another red-haired one, a woman with short red hair on a horse next to a green-haired cavalier, a mage boy with an abnormally large hat with a woman in fancy clothing with a staff on yet another horse. There was a girl in a yellow dress with another staff, a woman in red hair who was a mage, a man on a horse who had a fierce glare in his eyes, a thief, and a monster-rabbit creature. Not to mention, there was also a muscular man with an ax (why does he have no armor on?), a woman with an ax (wait, that was a man! I think...), a woman dressed in very little black clothing and a solemn gaze (always seemingly watching the man with white hair in a robe), a blue-haired bowman, a girl who could become a Manakete, a mercenary with red/brown hair, a young boy with a pot on his head (is that supposed to be a helmet?)... there were so many people!

 _And why are Risen being killed by nothing? Wait... It's a person in bulky armor! How could I have not noticed that before?_

But the last person I failed to actually notice until now was a familiar swordsman. He had dark hair with a blue myrmidon robe and black boots. His outfit was very similar to mine, except I had a dark green robe myself, and the designs were a bit different.

 _WAIT A MOMENT_... _He is Lon'qu! It is him!_

I realized something was off about him. It wasn't that because he had grown older (six years), but his air... personality... it seemed to be very different now.

 ** _Careful there, Ke'ri. You can not let memories get in the way during battle. It'll only get you hurt if you get distracted._**

I tried not to get off-track, but I ended up failing. I almost got slashed in the head by a Risen soldier. However, someone blocked the move off. Lon'qu had blocked the attack for me.

"What are you doing, woman? Fight!" he spat, knocking the Risen away.

"Um... yeah..." I snap out of it and fight. He didn't seem to recognize me... but maybe that was because we were in the middle of a battle.

My sword envelops in fire magic as I stab the Risen he had knocked down. I spin around and slash another Risen, successfully killing that one two in a critical hit. It chops the Risen in half, and it disappears in foul purple smoke. My black boots splash in purple, icky Risen blood. Kicking at another Risen behind me, I knock it down and slash it, while dealing with another at the same time.

Around me, I see many different fighting maneuvers. The brown-haired girl on the Pegasus swerves around on her mount, lunging forward with her spear. She has to fly up to avoid an arrow. Chrom, who works with Sumia, finishes off the Risen with a stab that goes right through it with his blade.

The woman in short red hair, a cavalier, shouts curse words at the Risen while running and trampling them, stabbing one with a lance.

 _Well, another way to use a horse..._

The invisible man (supposedly invisible because the Risen happen to never notice the armor knight when he attacks them) is defeating more Risen with ease. The man with the ax brutally chops off a head of the Risen. The head falls to the ground and trips another Risen before it vanishes in purple smoke. He smirks in triumph as his ax hacks into the tripped Risen, making an instant kill.

"C'mon, Donny, you can do this!" the boy with the pot on his head shouts with confidence as he spears a Risen. The Risen and Donny exchange attacks until the boy makes the Risen drop his weapon. The bile creature is left vulnerable, and Donny stabs the Risen right in the chest.

The Manakete girl is killing Risen with ease since she can fly. She blasts the enemies with a blue flame, burning Risen on the spot. Below, the thief dashes through the masses of Risen, finishing any of those who are injured.

I am left thinking of one thing: These Shepherds are powerful.

 ** _You know, your fate is with the Shepherds... To fight evil and recreate peace in this world..._**

 _Is that why I'm here?_

 ** _That is correct._**

I don't know how many Risen I defeated, but I eventually finish off another Risen to find no more of them there. I glance back at the village to find that it's not severely damaged as I thought it would become. The Shepherds, villagers, and I defended it pretty well this time. Some women hush their crying babies, and others are retrieving the fallen villager soldiers. Scraps of wood are being carted away to be reused due to the lack of resources.

I see the Speaker (named because he is the one who communicates with spirits most easily) talking with Chrom, before he motions me to come over. I see the Shepherds in a group behind Chrom, some getting healed from the battle. The girl in the yellow dress and the woman in pink on a horse are healing the wounded with their staffs. I walk slowly up to the group.

The Speaker says, "I think you would be better off joining the Shepherds. They could always use an extra hand to help fight in the war against Plegia."

"But what about this village?"

"It should be fine. We will be moving to another village because this one is far too ruined to repair, and the drought is making things hard. We think that going to another village will help us greatly. The Shepherd's leader has decided to help us migrate to a new village for a new life. The march there, he said, starts tomorrow."

I nod. "That would be better. There isn't really anything here to help rebuild the destroyed houses." I turn to Chrom, who looks back at me. "Ah, um, Lord Chrom, my name is Ke'ri, and I would be more than happy to join the Shepherds if you want me to."

Chrom chuckles. "I was never one for formalities. Just Chrom is fine."

Nodding again, I see Lon'qu's eyes widen as his gaze falls on me.

He walks over in shock after the last of his wounds are tended to.

"Ke'ri?" Lon'qu has a look of shock on his face. "Is it really... you?"

"Lon'qu," I whisper, staring up at him. I'm almost a head shorter than him by now. He's grown a lot over six years. "It is me..."

He says nothing, surprise overwhelming his face. "B-but... you were d-dead...!"

"I was," I sigh. "But I was brought back to life."

Seeing it was getting somewhat personal, Chrom and the Speaker walk off a little more to talk.

Lon'qu lowers his head in shame. "I've failed... I let you die."

"I wanted you to live!" I say. "That's why I let them take my life instead of yours."

The swordsman raises his gaze to look at me. Pain clouds in his eyes. "I've... missed you... Never once did I think you would be able to be reborn... but you are living. Is this even real?"

"Real it is," I respond. "C'mon, where's that smile of yours?"

Lon'qu's expression does not change, not even the tiniest bit. By this time, many more Shepherds had come around to watch.

"Thought he was afraid of women..." the thief says.

"Is that true?" I gaze at the man, then look back at Lon'qu.

"He's been snappish towards women and hates to go near them-"

"Shut up!" Lon'qu hisses, and I frown. I feel the tiniest bit of shock; Lon'qu was never that mean. He was quiet and all, but wouldn't do that, ever.

"Was this because of... me?" I ask hesitantly, and he only makes a slight frown.

I take out my sword and whack his forehead with the flat part of my sword.

"What the- What do you think you're doing, Ke'ri?" Lon'qu says, yet I feel that he's not surprised.

I only laugh. "If you're not going to smile or laugh, then I'll do that."

Lon'qu only shakes his head, remembering that I did that when he was little.

* * *

 _"Ugh." Lon'qu grumbled. "It won't work! You can't just catch a dragonfly like that!"_

 _"Yeah it will!" I say. "Have more faith in yourself! Look, I caught one with my hands already!" I whack his head with the flat part of my sword with my right hand, while my left hand holds the dragonfly's wings gently._

 _"H-HEY!" Lon'qu flinches. "Alright, fiiiinne. I'll try once more to catch it!"_

* * *

"Remember?" I say.

"Yeah." he says, a ghost of a smile on his face.

I smirk. "I've made you smile a little!"

"No, you didn't." Lon'qu makes a straight face quickly.

"No lying." I say, attempting to whack his head again, but his blade clashes with mine. I back off, thinking of a way to get him to smile.

 _Aha!_ I suddenly grin. _He's always been ticklish on the neck._

I take a few small steps closer to him, and he eyes me warily before I lunge and tickle his neck.

"K-k-Ke'ri!" Lon'qu chokes out a laugh as he stumbles and lands on his bottom. He tries to shove me away, but I only dodge before I keep tickling him.

"Now you're laughing," I giggle. All of the Shepherds look very shocked.

"Oh, my Gods..." The girl in the yellow dress gapes. "How...?"

I stop tickling Lon'qu, but he turns away from the Shepherds with a real smile on his face. "Using my weakness for your advantage... you know me too well, Ke'ri." He continues to sit on the ground, making a small chuckle.

"I've won, then." I say. "Now, you're more like your old self!"

I extend a hand, and Lon'qu hesitates for a few seconds before taking it. I help him stand back up, and he looks around to see the Shepherds watching him.

"What now..." he mutters.

"Interesting." the red-haired mage says to break the silence.

"So he does really smile or laugh," The green cavalier tilts his head.

" _Duh_ , he's a human! Of course he can laugh or smile," the mage boy counters. "How is it not possible to do so?"

"The Teach has never seen a more shockin' experience than anything." the ax man says.

The brown-haired Pegasus girl comes up to meet me, but then trips. She instantly gets up before I can ask if she's okay.

"You must be extraordinary to get that guy to laugh!" she says. "My name's Sumia. And I always trip a lot. But I'm always okay!"

The others introduce themselves to me. The ax man was Vaike, the mage boy is Sumia, Lissa and Maribelle are the clerics, Sully and Stahl are the two cavaliers, Robin is the man with white hair in the robe, Nowi is the Mankete, Kellam is the invisible armor knight, and Virion is the bowknight. There are many other names to add to the list of all the other Shepherds, like Donnel, Miriel, and Tharja...

I see Virion about to say something, but someone slaps him. "Not now, dolt!" It was Sumia. "Forgive him. When he speaks, he's quite- no... always flirty. He'll flirt with basically any woman."

"Hey!" Virion glares. "Can't a fancy guy like me try to talk to a beautiful young woman who glows with stunning beauty even in the darkest of nights?"

I blush. "Umm... okaaayyyy?" I mean, honestly I find that red-haired girl, Cordelia, would probably be far more beautiful than me. People always said I was cute rather than beautiful when I was younger. I haven't really thought of looking at myself in the mirror to see how much I had really grown.

"Hey, don't go scarin' away the newest recruit 'ere!" Donnel snapped to Virion. Virion is also slapped by Maribelle, and given the evil eye by a few disapproving Shepherds, so he meekly backs away and shuts up for the time being.

I internally sigh in relief, while the swordsman at my side looks disdainfully at the flirt.

"Ha ha, it looks like Lon'qu has a new g-"

Lon'qu's hand went to the blade at his side. Vaike promptly shut up and backed away like Virion had.

"...Whoopsies..." Vaike whistled casually as he backed into Sully's horse. The horse then kicked Vaike, which made him fall on his face.

I cringe as Vaike stays on the ground a few moments, rubbing his head. "Yeesh..." I hear him curse. "Is this how life is with the Shepherds?"

"Hell yeah it is!" Sully said without any concern, while poking Vaike with a lance sharply to make him get back up. "We all have our quirks, but we're all one big group o' buddies!"

 _This is gonna be some time traveling with the Shepherds..._ I make a small smile.

Later on, tents are set up around the ruined camps. It was nearly evening, and I volunteered to help out with dinner. Frederick had killed a bear, so it was to be cooked under the fire. Tharja found a rabbit as well.

"Don't kill it!" I say as Tharja holds up the rabbit by the nape of its neck.

"Oh, no, I was planning to use it as an.. _experiment_..." she said, lowering her voice. She noticed Panne was standing nearby, but Panne had already heard. The Taguel came running over to Tharja and I.

"How dare you mess with a bunny!" Panne scolded, promptly snatching the rabbit away and petting it. Tharja hissed under her breath and went away (maybe to fetch another bunny in secret? Oh, no...)

"A bunny?" Lissa cried out, and Ricken came running up with the cleric girl. "Aww...!"

Panne, Lissa, and Ricken seemed to be greatly entertained by the bunny, while Tharja just pouted, and pointed to the sky, chanting a hex. A bird fell down, and she caught the bird, heading away (unspotted this time!) to do one of her torture trials- no, um... experiments!

The giant bear was being prepared to cook, chopped into slices. Lon'qu stood a little distance away from me, watching as I helped.

"Hey, remember the time when I cooked bear meat before?" I turn around and look at him. That was the year I had died in the attack, when I was ten years old. Lon'qu actually turned eleven at the time.

"That time, right? It actually was pretty good," Lon'qu responded truthfully, closing his eyes for a short while. "I never doubted your cooking abilities after that, of course."

* * *

 _I came home one day with a bag of raw meat._

 _"Um... what is that?" Lon'qu looked closely at it, and his nose wrinkles in disgust, seeing raw hunks of pink and blood in the bag. For all he knew, it could be a whale heart or part of someone's dead body._

 _"Bear meat! I got it by one of those merchants. It cost only a few coins." There weren't many bears in Chron'sin at all, and people didn't really eat this at all. The meat had come from overseas._

 _"You're going to... cook that?"_

 _I nodded. "Right on!"_

 _Lon'qu stood right by me as I baked the bear meat in the stone oven. "Are you sure that's safe? I'm pretty sure it's not safe for a ten year old to use the oven."_

 _"I know what I'm dealing with! Why would I deal with fire if I didn't know how to cook? And besides, you're only a year older than me. You can't just say 'I'm pretty sure it's not safe for a ten year old to use the oven' when you just turned eleven yourself, Lon'qu!"_

 _"Just... just don't hurt yourself, please. I'm sure that we're not supposed to even be in the kitchen, let alone use knives-"_

 _"It's no different than sword fighting training," I remind him._

 _"Well... right. But still."_

 _I finished adding a bit of salt to the bear meat and let it bake for a few more minutes. I soon took it out, not even burning myself. The baked meat smelled better than I expected it to be, and we let it cool. The aroma actually made my mouth water._

 _"Ke'ri, what did you just bake? You know you shouldn't be using the oven." My mother had come into the kitchen with a partially worried face, noticing the smell._

 _"I didn't burn myself, mom! Look! I got bear meat and cooked it!"_

 _My mother smelled the meat again. "To be honest, though, it smells great. I wouldn't mind trying bear meat."_

 _Lon'qu cut up the meat with a knife, and we all tried it. It tasted great, to my surprise!_

 _"We have a little cook here, don't we," Mother smiled at me, and I blushed in praise._

 _"It was really good, Ke'ri," Lon'qu says, taking another portion of the meat. "Thanks."_

* * *

"Hope it tastes great like that time," he makes a soft smile. I made a note myself that I should visit Chron'sin to see how my parents were doing.

"Well, this time there's a whole bear to cook! Never knew bears were so big, y'know." I say, watching while Frederick makes a bloody mess out of chopping up hunks of bear meat (fascinating anatomy, but gross, as Miriel claimed as she walked by).

Frederick searches around for something, and pulls out a pot. "This will suffice, am I correct?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Frederick."

He dumps the bear meat with a loud 'plop' into the pot. I use my Fire tome and my sword glowed orange.

"Magic?" Lon'qu sounds surprised. "Where did you get that from?"

"I use tomes and swords, which gives my blade more power," I explain. "I have Thunder, Wind, and Fire with me."

"We have to do a sparring match to see who's better this time," he reminds me.

"Maybe I'll win for once," I say. "You're always stronger. But I'll have an edge over our training matches now!"

A fire lit up the wood below, and I poured a bit of water into the pot to make bear stew. I mash up the bear meat a little more to break it up into little chunks, or they would be harder to eat.

After cooking the stew and adding salt to it, dinner was served. Everyone enjoyed it on a nice spring evening. Lon'qu sat next to me and tasted the stew.

"Just as good as before..." I see Lon'qu smile again, and I do too, and we laughed as we reminisced about our childhood days, sitting in the glow of the firelight of the beautiful, peaceful evening.

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for the favorites and likes! If you haven't noticed, I edited the first chapter recently. I will most likely edit this chapter later on when I go back to reading this. Review if you spot any mistakes, and have a good day! Thank you for reading!**

 *** I would suppose Lon'qu had a much happier attitude before Ke'ri died. Perhaps he was still quiet and nervous at times, but was still much more kinder as a boy with his best friend, despite of living in the slums as a kid.**


	3. Sparring Match

**AN: Hello all again! And thank you if you're still reading. With not much to say, the third chapter embarks!**

* * *

"Let's spar!" I say after I hand my finished dish to Tharja, who uses a hex to clean it. Miriel watches closely nearby, interested in the hex while writing down notes. She also takes Lon'qu's dish after and cleans it as well, while Lon'qu seems to be uneasy around the dark mage. I've also seen Chrom and especially Robin still look creeped-out by Tharja's intimidating demeanor when near her, though she was a Shepherd like any one of them. I've heard that she threatened to turn Kellam into a newt once.

"That's fine with me," Lon'qu says after we walk away to a spacey clearing. He hands me a wooden practice sword, taking out his own as well. The practice sword is still quite hefty, as heavy as my steel sword, despite it being made of just wood.

"Thanks! Don't go easy on me, remember!" I remind him, putting myself into my fighting stance, while Lon'qu does the same. I'm the first to make a move, lunging. He easily counters, and I use magic to win the deadlock.

Lon'qu has a look of surprise, but his expression returns to normal. "I forgot you had magic, Ke'ri."

"Maybe I'll have an edge against you now! You keep winning more than half of the times we battled."

"True."

Each attack we throw at each other we counter with ease. None of us seem to give up, until I jab him in the shoulder and the elbow. The numbing sensation from the hit nearly makes him drop his sword, so I knock it out of his grip with a sideways slash. So now, Lon'qu is forced to keep dodging while I fight with both blades, one in each hand.

He does manage to trip me with his foot as I sprint up to him. Landing on my stomach, I am partially winded, and he is able to take his sword back. Meanwhile, I rolled out of the way and we continued to fight with no signs of tiring.

The match seems to go on and on, and I realize it's almost time to get to sleep for tomorrow's march.

"Wow... we fought for more than an hour, I think. It's certainly been a while." I exclaim, panting slightly. The adrenaline still runs like fire through me, fueling me with strength for this intense sparring match.

"But this is the first sparring match we had in a long while, y'know," he responds.

"Well, I know, but we can't really fight too long. We need rest for tomorrow's march and battle."

"We'll fight on our way back to camp." We had went a distance away from camp to spar so the fight wouldn't bother anyone with wooden swords clashing and causing a big annoyance and all.

"That might scare the people, Lon'qu! But I guess we can do that... We _have_ to finish the battle. But we can race back as well. Ready, go!"

So as we head to the camp, we continue to slash with our practice blades, gaining a few people's attention as we fought and raced each other back to the main clearing of the camp.

"How long have you two been fighting for? You two don't look tired at all." Ricken decides to walk to us, yet give us some space so we don't accidentally hurt him.

"I don't know... Um... More than an hour, I think!" I quickly say. "I don't really know how long exactly."

"Whoa, really?" the mage boy replies. "I wanna watch to see who wins!"

"Have we had longer sparring matches before?" I wonder, sidestepping.

"Not really, I don't think so," Lon'qu says while ducking to the ground. I almost landed a slash at his head. As soon as he stands back up, I whack him on the head with the wooden sword. He only glares. "... Dang it..."

"Who are you rootin' for?" Sully yelled, also spectating the watch. "Think Lon'qu's gonna win."

"Don't really know for sure," Vaike also approached us, curious about what was happening. "But I think Ke'ri's gonna kick Lon'qu's butt in this battle."

Donnel had just arrived as well. "What's goin' on?"

"Are you goin' to root for Ke'ri or Lon'qu in this match?" I heard Sully ask.

"Don't know! Maybe Ke'ri. Doesn' she 'ave magic?"

"A bit," Miriel said. "An intriguing and powerful way of combat. I think Ke'ri may claim victory with these unique skills."

"How do they not break a sweat on this?" Ricken asked. "But I'm rooting for Ke'ri if you wanted to know."

I couldn't really hear too much of what our audience was saying, as Lon'qu and I were way too focused on the battle.

"Go go go!" Lissa shouted at me, joining in the apparent excitement revolving around our match. "I'm rooting for you, Ke'ri!"

"Thanks!" I shout while dodging and twirling again. We reach another deadlock, and I use wind magic to counter. "Hiyah!"

Lon'qu still overpowers the magic and wins the deadlock, jabbing me in the arm. I dodged most of the attack and we keep slashing. It kind of looked like Lon'qu hadn't had this much fun for ages, it seemed. There was a faint smile on his face he glanced at me.

The man named Gregor had joined in on the chant, and it was making a loud racket of shouting as the loudest cheerers were him, Sully, Donnel, Lissa, Vaike, and sometimes Ricken.

"I think we've gotten every Shepherd to watch." I say, nearly tripping. I roll instead instead of falling, so I trip Lon'qu. Jumping back up, I leap away a little before Lon'qu can lunge and stab at me.

Since this match didn't seem as if it would end any longer, I reach for the sheath of the wooden sword I had with me and chuck it at Lon'qu's face (I wouldn't do this in a real battle, though). Lon'qu hits it out of the way, but that went all along to my plan. I then chuck my sword at Lon'qu, which then hits him in the face because his sword isn't there to block his face. I kick Lon'qu in the chest while he's distracted, which knocks him down. Catching my sword, which had started to fall, I point my sword at his chest, and he mutters defeat.

"Nice battle, though," I say, and help him up after I extend a hand and help him up.

"The Vaike won the bet!"

"We didn't bet for anything, you arse-head."

Lissa and Ricken cheer, high-fiving each other. "Ke'ri won!"

Lon'qu only scrathes the back of his head. "Hadn't had a good match in ages. Thank you."

I only smile at him as I retrieve the wooden sword's sheath. "Not a problem." The group around us disperse to do their own things, leaving the two of us alone. The people more enthusiastic about the match were still excited from the match.

Robin walks up to me. "If you wouldn't mind, I would like to practice sword fighting with both of you. My magic is pretty good, but I'm nowhere as good as you two with the sword."

"I would be glad to!" I say. "No problem."

The tactician then nods and heads off to deal with any last matters of the day and preparing for the battle tomorrow. That just left the swordsman and I. We sat around the dying fire, silent.

"I honestly wouldn't have won if I didn't throw anything at you," I tell him eventually. "Is your face okay? I threw that wooden sword kind of hard."

"It didn't hurt much," he simply says. "It was a good idea, though."

The small conversation dies off as we just stare at the remaining fire in front of us. I turn to look at him eventually. He seems to be lost in thought.

"Were you always this quiet before?"

He nods, but still remains silent.

After a few more minutes of complete silence, I stand up. "I'm gonna get some sleep for tomorrow. You should soon. Goodnight, Lon'qu."

"'Night, Ke'ri," he stands up as I turn around and leave, walking under the now-blackened sky. I feel Lon'qu's eyes watching me as I head towards my tent. Lying down, I close my eyes and fall into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 _Walking in a grassy field on a sunny day, I see the back of a person, younger than me by only a few years. He has dark brown hair, almost like mine._

 _"Um, hey... who are you?" I ask. "What are you doing here?"_

 _The person doesn't respond at first. A gentle breeze runs through the plain, making the grasses rustle softly. I don't feel any impatience at all, though he doesn't say a thing at all._

 _He sighs and turns around. What I see is shocking. He looks a lot like me. Is he my brother?_

I don't have a brother... I only have a sister. So that's out of the question. He can't be a sibling at all.

 _The boy has eyes that are nearly black in color. He has a sword at his side, with a black and silver myrmidon robe. One look at him and I would guess that he would be Lon'qu. But the boy only a little taller than me. Lon'qu is a head taller than me. And the boy looks different from my childhood friend, on a closer look._

Is this Lon'qu's little brother, then? I think Lon'qu had a brother. If he did, he wasn't around often. I don't remember any siblings from him.

 _"Oh... I was waiting for you. My name is-" the boy starts to say, but then he's cut off by a rumble in the ground. I almost fall to the ground, but I stagger before regaining balance. I look around for what may have caused the quake in the ground, but there's nothing in sight. Nothing had changed at all, but things were strangely silent. It was... eerie._

 _"We have to get back to the Shepherds. Um... Come with me, then." I say suddenly. The boy pauses as I turn to run, and he follows me as we get back to the camp._

 _Back at camp, the Shepherds are all wary and alarmed at the small earthquake._

 _"Something's coming," Chrom shouted. "Gather your weapons and prepare for anything!"_

 _I run up to Lon'qu._

 _"Ke'ri, are you alright? Why does he look familiar to me?" Lon'qu first asks. He saw the boy following behind me. The boy's eyes widened as he saw both of us. However, he seems to refuse to say a thing. I see the blue-haired girl next to Chrom widen her eyes, staring at the boy, as well as a few other Shepherds I didn't know. I tilt my head in confusion._

Does she know about him?

 _"I'm alright. But I don't know why he looks so familiar to you."_

 _"Prepare for battle! There are Risen up ahead, with some Grimleal! Battle positions now!" Robin shouts, and all conversation dies off as we rush to face the battle._

 _The boy stays with us, looking worried. He stares at me with a look of pain._

He seems to know something... What does he possibly know? Is it something about me?

 _Soon enough, we leap into battle. A multitude of enemies surround all of us. The boy seems to be just as skilled in the sword as Lon'qu and I are. We defend ourselves perfectly well, making a circle so no enemy can attack our backs._

 _But even through our best efforts, there are just too many Risen. Their red eyes seem brighter than usual, glaring intimidatingly at me. At some point, we had gotten separated, so we were forced to fight by ourselves. I found myself backing to a corner, my energy draining from the battle. A Grimleal had his hand raised, a Thoron tome about to finish me off. I see Lon'qu through the crowd, but he wouldn't reach me in time. I want to shout for help, but nobody's close enough to help me deal with the Risen around me and the mage who was about to finish me off. The swordmaster's eyes widen as he shouts my eyes._

 _The only thing I can do is hold my sword out to try to block the hit, though it wouldn't work at all-_

 _"NO!" someone shouts, stabbing the Grimleal suddenly. It was the boy who I had met some time ago. He glances at me worriedly. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"_

 _"Um... yeah... Thank you." I nod gratefully, able to stab the two Risen that were on both sides of me, previously preventing my escape from the Grimleal._

 _We continue to fight for what seemed like an eternity. The boy stays at my side, still shaken at my near-death. He also seems somewhat relieved, as if he knew what was going to happen, and how he was going to stop it._

Well, how was that even possible? There's just so many confusing things about this boy... I have to ask him a lot of questions about who he is after this battle.

 _The boy and I fight side by side as easily as if we had known each other for years, fighting perfectly in sync. We had cleared out the Risen in no time, and the battle was soon over._

 _"Thank the gods that you lived..." the boy says, the worry in his face fading away._

 _"Thank you for saving me back there," I smile at the boy, who smiles back. "But might I ask who you are?"_

 _The boy stops breathing for a moment in nervousness, and he looks away. When he seems to gain the courage to speak, he looks right at me, his dark brown eyes shining with courage._

* * *

 **AN: And there you go! I think you might know what will happen from Ke'ri's dream. It's probably not that hard to guess, I think.**

 **And if you do know what I did have in mind from what I wrote, please suggest me a Chron'sin name (for a boy). We need to name that boy soon.**

 **Have a good day, and I'll be updating soon!**


	4. Mad King Gangrel

**AN: I am thankful for the four who followed my story! Thank you for reading, and if you'd like, review (no one has yet; it makes me kind of nervous). I also have a favor to ask of you readers: Can you suggest a name for the boy in Ke'ri's dreams? It would be greatly appreciated; currently, I have no name for the boy.**

 **With that all said, the chapter starts!**

* * *

We had woken up early in the morning to march off to face King Gangrel. The air was somewhat silent. Chrom hadn't said much that morning, and Lissa was sniffling a bit, and had a frown on her usually happy face, though her eyes had the smallest sparks of hope in them. The reason from this was the death of their beloved eldest sibling, Emmeryn. I wish I could have known a person who had been known for great peace across the nation. I decided not to ask about Emmeryn right now; everyone must have still been shaken by the tragedy, which happened around two weeks ago.

 ** _The mad king, Gangrel..._** I heard my spirit guardian tell me. **_Defeating him will most likely end this war in Plegia, though there are even more problems to deal with in the future._**

 _Even more problems?_

 ** _Within time you will find out. I cannot see what happens in the future, but I sense it._**

If only I knew about what would happen. A twinge of anxiety made me bite my lip slightly, but I shook off the thought of anything dealing with the future.

Sighing, I sidestep a rock in the way. I glance up to see Lon'qu a pace ahead of me, also deep in thought. Everyone else had basically done the same, a tense and anxious silence forming around the group. The silence was getting to me, and I hoped that the march would be over soon. I didn't mind these rocky paths, but I disliked the tenseness among every Shepherd.

Finally, we arrived on a large, open plain. The sun was already high in the sky, with several clouds floating above. Robin organized everyone into groups. Supposedly, he already had this planned, though he hadn't talked to many people. Chrom and Sumia were at the front of the group, paired off. Chrom's boot dug into the ground as the next Exalt waited. Sumia put a hand on his shoulder to try to calm his anxiety, which only worked a little.

"Lon'qu, you're okay being paired up with Ke'ri, right?"

"That's fine," Lon'qu nods, and he stands close to me.

Robin finally finished organizing the groups. A new girl, a shy dancer by the name of Olivia, had just joined the group after a matter of minutes. Because of that, he changed up the pairings slightly.

Chrom was with Sumia, Sully was with Vaike, Ricken was with Lissa, and Gaius was with Tharja. Frederick was paired up with Olivia, Gregor was with Miriel, Libra with Maribelle, Donnel with Nowi, Cordelia with Kellam, and Virion was with Panne. Stahl, Anna, Robin fought alone. Lon'qu used to fight with Cordelia at times, but now he was going to fight with me.

The groups advanced forward towards the distant enemies, and a battle then engaged after a few minutes. A Plegian ran up to me and I countered immediately with my own sword, overpowering him with electric magic. The man was shocked, not only that I had magic, but also physically. The metal blade conducted the electricity to shock him, leaving the man barely conscious from the strong shock and the long cut on his torso. I only whacked him hard on the head. I didn't really want to kill anyone, but if I had to, then I would do so. Knocking them out would be fine.

Lon'qu had meanwhile defended my back. Standing behind me, he was busy exchanging slashes with another Plegian swordsman. I jumped in to help my friend, and together, we finished the enemy off. Lon'qu only nods in gratitude before he suddenly whips around, stabbing another enemy with a lance. The enemy falls, blood pooling on the ground. Some enemies on horseback had come as well, and I tripped a few horses with my blade. Defeating more Plegians, we advance after getting healed by Lissa, who was close by.

And so, the battle continued. Lon'qu made sure to guard me a lot, though I didn't need it as much. I understood why: he was afraid of losing me again. I remembered the look on his face years ago as he down near me, helpless. I was dying after I pushed Lon'qu away from an oncoming stab of a bandit's sword.

* * *

 _"Ke'ri..." I heard Lon'qu's voice, distant yet worried. He glanced around, and I could tell that the bandits had already disappeared._

 _"I'm sorry, Lon'qu..." I croak, weakened by the loss of blood. My eyes see blood from the stab wound, making a puddle of red on the bloody mud. I barely reacted to it._

 _"Don't die, please! Help is on the way..." I barely heard him as my eyes closed._

 _"... There is nothing... you can do..." I breathe out before the world becomes dark. "It's... not... not your... fault..."_

* * *

Shaking that thought off, I made sure to guard Lon'qu as well. If he would probably be insistent on protecting me and making sure I did not get severely injured, then I would do the same thing to make sure he'd be safe.

Slash after slash we knock out enemies around us. We defend each other's backs for a while, until another surge of enemies breaks the defensive position we were fighting in. And in the corner of my eye, I saw someone stealthily sneaking up to Lon'qu's back while he was dealing with two fighters at once.

"Watch out!" I shout to Lon'qu as he doesn't seem to notice the man behind him. I knock aside the mage I was battling, and my left arm gets wounded badly in the process by blocking the enemy's hit. I am able to take out the enemy who attacked me, who was a myrmidon.

Lon'qu turns around just in time to see my arm get cut by the sword. I finished off the myrmidon with only one arm, my left arm still stinging from the wound, so I pull out a vulnerary to partially heal the wound.

"It'll be fine. It won't kill me, I promise," I tell him, gritting my teeth from the pain. He still seems to be worried, and I go to open the bottle that contains the vulnerary.

 ** _Close your eyes... Focus on healing your wound..._** I hear Lena say. I did so, and my arm stopped hurting as I focused on it.

I hear Lon'qu gasp, so I open my eyes. The wound is gone. There was no need for using the potion at all.

 _I can heal?_

 ** _It is possible to heal wounds with your magic. But if they are too severe, it will be far beyond your power to help, and it will cost too much energy. Your magic can heal a decent amount of wounds, as long as you have the energy to do so._**

 _Thank you, Lena._

"Here, let me treat your wounds," I say to Lon'qu, and he reluctantly lets me heal him. The worst wound is only a shallow gash on his side.

"Thank you." he says to me before we go on to help the other Shepherds with any shallow wounds and such.

Proceeding onwards, we find Gangrel fighting Chrom. The blue-haired man has a look of fury on his face as he overpowers the Mad King. Lissa watches the battle next to Ricken, who had dealt with a mage behind him. Her face has a look of revenge and hope as she sees her brother fighting the one who caused her sister's death.

A Levin sword clashes with Falchion as the two exchange slashes, becoming a tense and grueling fight. But Chrom seemed to getting the upper hand, fueled by determination and rage. Though Gangrel blocked most of Chrom's attacks, and scored his own, he seemed to be weakening with each move.

And finally, at last, Gangrel is struck down, stabbed by the Falchion. Gangrel mutters defeat as his final words, and Chrom raises his sword in victory, taking deep breaths.

"This war is over." Chrom finally announced. "The Mad King is no more. Ylisse shall now be in peace!"

 _Then where are the other threats? Are they not happening yet? Are they even more grave and perilous than this war?_

Chrom and Sumia embrace for a while, and Lissa joins in, crying in happiness that Emmeryn's death has been avenged for. Wounds are tended to, and we set back to the Shepherd's garrison and Ylisse.

* * *

A celebration was held, not only for the war ending between Ylisse and Plegia, but for the marriage of Chrom and Sumia. With peace and restoring Ylisse to how it was before and Chrom being made the Exalt, it was a glorious time among all Shepherds. Even though I had only fought two battles in the war, I was treated like any other Shepherd, making more friends. It was a happy time indeed.

What I feared- another war, another threat- had faded over time as I spent more time with my childhood friend, catching bugs and sparring. But after two years passed, new threats rose...

* * *

 **AN: Thanks for reading! Please review, and have a good day!**


	5. The New War

**Hi all! It's been a little busy from the beginning of the school year, but I've finally managed to put some time aside to write another chapter! Enjoy!**

 **AND ALSO, I've realized that the events happening in this fanfiction will go slightly off the original story. Some events will happen after other events, and some might not even happen. It will still go along the original plot idea of going to Chron'sin and defeating the Valmese and the Grimleal, but it won't be the exact story.**

* * *

The day Chrom called us all back to head off on a mission, I knew that what I had dreaded and anticipated for had finally come. It was a gut feeling that stirred in the pit of my stomach when I heard Chrom approach.

"Hello, Chrom." I nod as I stopped my training.

"Hello, Ke'ri."

"How is Lucina doing?"

"She's as fine as ever and we also have another daughter, only a few days old. Her name is Cynthia." Chrom made a small smile.

I nearly squealed. "Well, congratulations!"

Chrom thanked me, but then the conversation headed on a different path. "I came to ask you to join the Shepherd's mission to Ferox. There's a few things going on now. I will explain more when I gather all of the Shepherds together."

"Oh. Well, I'll come right away. I'll just pack a few things. Did you tell Lon'qu?"

"No. But you can tell him for me, right?"

"Yeah. I'll be back soon." I made a short wave, then exited the tent, heading out to find the laconic swordsman. I found him rather quickly, as he was crouching on the ground and holding a caterpillar in his hands. Upon my arrival, he turned back and looked at me.

"Chrom came to get us. Something happened." I told him with a sigh. "I've known something bad would happen some time before. The war against Plegia wasn't the end of it."

"How do you know?"

"A spirit guides me. She foretold this." I responded, and he stood up, placing the green caterpillar back into the tree.

Without another word, we go to pack our stuff, and we meet Chrom, who is waiting at the front of the camp.

"Alright. Let's go." he says, marching away from the camp. We follow him, and after some walk and a ride in a simple wagon led by horses, we made it to the barracks. I already heard the many voices of the other Shepherds, all of them who I haven't seen in a few months.

"Hi Cordelia. Hello, Tharja." I nod. Cordelia gives a nod, while Tharja just stares at me. I join in the crowd, while Lon'qu stays a pace away from the crowd.

"Shepherds... I have gathered you today because Emperor Walhart from Valm has threatened our country. We need the supplies to head out to Valm and rid of this threat. So... we are heading to Plegia, because Ferox and Ylisse do not have enough resources for this."

Many look surprised, and a few only nod with the grave news.

"To Plegia, then." Chrom sighed, before listing off who would be going, and who would be staying. Everyone would be meeting again in the end after the trip to Plegia. Lon'qu and I were among one of the Shepherds going with Chrom to the said country.

"Things aren't going to turn out well after this," I grumble. Even Lon'qu, who marches along right next to me, doesn't seem to notice. He didn't hear, didn't react, or both. Sighing silently, my eyes focus on the ground and my black boots making slight footprints in the damp mud of the wilderness.

* * *

Days had passed, and after miles of mud and dirt, I stepped foot on dry, stinging sand. A change, but not a good one.

 _I hate the sand. Curse those eye-stinging bits._

"Plegia..." I murmur, taking a small sip out of the water bottle I carried with me.

"You look tired." The dark-haired swordsman turns towards me. "Don't you want a rest? You could have sat in the cart if you wanted to..."

"Lissa's there now. And I'm fine." I glace at the said blonde-haired princess lay down on the cart, rubbing her eyes from the dry, harsh sands.

Sand blows into my eyes, making my eyes sting with tears. I resist the urge to open my mouth to curse at the stupid sand, as sand would fly into my mouth. The sand blew on, merciless to any travelers. Lissa, Maribelle, and Miriel were so lucky to sit in the cart right now. I wanted nothing more than to get out of the annoying sandstorm.

"I'll give you a piggy-back ride." Lon'qu tells me reluctantly. I accept after a few seconds, and he crouches down. I wrap my arms around his shoulders and he walks on. Relieved, I close my eyes. No more sand...

I drift in and out of sleep, leaning against the swordmaster's head as he walks on.

"Thanks, Lon'qu..." I sigh after I see a castle in sight.

"It's nothing." he says shortly, and he lowers me to the ground. My feet touch and sink under the layer of thick sand. My legs, numb with the effort of trudging over sand beforehand, collapsed as I fell face-first into the sand. I got a mouthful of sand, and my eyes stung more than ever.

 _Curse. This. Sanddddd!_

Lon'qu helps me stand back up as I cough, spitting out the bits of sand, grimacing as the rocky bits crunch between my teeth. My eyes squeeze shut from the pain of sand scratching them. I hear myself whimper in pain as the sand scratches at my eyes.

"Are you okay?" I hear Lon'qu ask.

"Hopefully." I grumble. "I hate the sand. Really, really hate it. I hope we're out of it soon."

I feel someone's hand wipe away the sand from my face and hair. My head is tilted back a little, and I feel cool, refreshing water wash out some of the sand from my eyes. A few seconds later, my vision is mostly clear, but it still hurts to see.

"Thanks again." I make a faint smile.

By this time, my legs had already woken up, and I take cautious steps through the uneven, sinking ground. I realize my hand holds Lon'qu's hand as I balance and trudge over this barren, arduous landscape. I glance up to see Lon'qu... he's blushing.

I wanted to ask, but the fear of getting sand in my mouth stopped me.

 _That's a question to ask for later._

* * *

It seemed as if it took another lifetime to reach Plegia's castle. I practically leaped in through the doors after the guards let us in.

 _Finally!_

"Welcome, Shepherds." a voice says out of the darkness. My eyes immediately locate a man with a long neck and dark skin. He wears a grand, dark robe. Something about him makes me feel slightly intimidated.

Chrom bows and says hello to the man, before telling him of the problem.

"Ah... as Plegia's new king, I would be pleased to lend you our supplies for your need. We have many ships you can use to travel to Chron'sin."

I can't help but notice that Robin has a pained look on his face as he whispers to Chrom. Out of earshot, I could only wonder what they were saying to each other.

"What are you whispering, you two?" King Validar, the man I saw earlier, say with suspicion in his voice.

"We're sorry, milord." Robin said quickly.

"Anyway," King Validar sighed. "I would like you meet my new friend."

Something about those words made me shudder. I looked beyond the king to see a hooded figure walk up to everyone else.

"Hello." the person whispers, and I find myself clutching Lon'qu's arm in fear.

"Um... can you... take off the hood?" Chrom asks uneasily. "We'd like to see who you are."

"Very well..." the hooded man's voice whispers. Two pale hands reach up and uncover his face. Chrom's expression makes it look as if he regrets the request of seeing who the man really is, but the sight is unforgettable.

 _What? What is this?_

Because there stands a clone of Robin. The same face, robe, expression... how could this even happen?

 ** _Ke'ri... there stands your real problem..._**

The Robin clone looks right at me.

"So we meet at last, Ke'ri."

* * *

 **AN: I guess this is where story derails from the original game's plot! Let's see where this goes!**

 **Thanks for reading, and I promise I'm doing my best to get a new chapter up and ready! Please bear with me... I may be slow at times.**


	6. A New King, a New Mark

**AN: I am back! Hope that you enjoyed the previous chapters.**

* * *

I make a startled gasp, jumping behind Lon'qu. Lon'qu's hand immediately flies to his sword, not yet unsheathing his blade.

"How... do you know who I am?" I ask, my voice laced with fear.

The Robin clone only stares at me.

"You aren't supposed to be living." he says with a strange sense of calmness.

 _But I am._

"Hush." King Validar puts a hand on the clone's shoulder. "Ke'ri, I deeply apologize for his strange actions."

He didn't sound so sorry.

I see Lon'qu glare at the man, and the clone glare back before returning his gaze to me.

"Who are you...?" I whisper. "How do you know me?"

I never got those answers as the man is led away by guards. Robin and Chrom talk quietly, and the King of Plegia looks at the two with more suspicion on his face than before.

"We will be going now." Chrom says. "Thank you for your support."

With a slight wave of his hand, all Shepherds turn to follow him. I feel someone's hands on my shoulder, and I turn to see Validar looking down at me.

"You..." he said with an unsettling grin on his face. "Just wait..."

 _Do I listen to royalty or my instincts?_

"If I may ask, King Validar, what are you doing?" asks Chrom suddenly.

"Nothing. Ke'ri and I will have a little talk."

 _A talk? Does he know about who I am, like that Robin clone does?_

"Then I will stay with her." I hear Lon'qu say.

"No, boy. You go with your fellow Shepherds," King Validar gives him a sharp look that Lon'qu doesn't flinch from. Without another word, Validar leads me down the dim hallways.

"I've known that you have been resurrected... But what if I said that with my help, I revived you?"

 _That can't be true!_

"You owe me, Ke'ri. I revived you from the dead. And now, you shall do me a favor."

"I would, but I refuse." My voice trembles.

Memories suddenly flash through my head. I realize that what I see is through Validar's eyes. My body lies on some strange altar, as Validar chants something, dark aura surrounding me. I see my own eyes flicker open, staring at the sky in confusion. My eyes closed as Validar puts my body on the ground in the center of a field far away, before he disappears without a trace.

"Think about. I am the one who revived you. You must return a favor now. You shall carry this medallion with you. You shall show nobody. If you do, you will be punished."

"H-how...?" I feel a cold, metal medallion press into my hand.

"Just hold it up." the King encourages. I hold the medallion up in the air so it catches a glint of light, and my head fills with pain. I try throwing it down to the ground, but it won't leave my hand. I gasp.

"What did you do?" I murmur.

"You will hold this responsibility. Do not tell anyone. Now, go. If you break the rules, you will never see your loved swordsman ever again."

I run back, fear making my vision blurred. Slowing my pace to a walk, I realize my head feels heavy and nauseous.

 _What do I do, Lena?_

I hear nothing. Has this medallion done something to block off Lena's words? What could it do to me?

 _You are by yourself now..._

The doors opened on the command of the guards, where I meet up with the other Shepherds.

"What did the King say?" Chrom asked me.

 _I should show that medallion. After all, it did have some strange, familiar mark... The same one on Robin's hand._

I reach up to show the medallion that I had put in my pocket, but my head suddenly pulsed with indescribable pain. I would never be able to show what I had in my pocket.

"...ri...Ke'ri... are... okay?"

The pain fades as I take my hand away from my pocket.

"I'm okay. Nothing happened." My mouth moves on its own. "King V-Validar only wondering about why that clone knew w-who I was."

 _I'm possessed! I want to say the truth!_ I wanted to cry out, but I couldn't. I just couldn't. My mouth wouldn't speak any more.

I tear my gaze from Lon'qu, who has a strange look on his face, to Chrom and Robin.

"Let's go, then." Chrom states, leading the group on. He did not suspect a thing.

As we march on, I close my eyes for a short while. The solitude doesn't last long; someone puts their hand on my shoulder. I flinch slightly as I glance at whoever was there next to me.

"Something's wrong." Lon'qu says.

I shake my head. "Nothing is wrong. King Validar was just telling me about why that Robin clone even exists."

"Then why?" the swordsman asks suspiciously.

"B-because..." I stutter. "Well, it's because that Robin clone is linked to Robin in some way. Something like the clone having all the memories that Robin doesn't." Guilt bites at me for fibbing, but I couldn't resist the force in my mind that controlled and restricted what I said.

"You didn't really answer the question." he says.

"Listen!" I grit my teeth. "It's just confusing. I don't know how to explain it without sounding insane."

He tilted his head before stopping the conversation, but he still walked close by.

Suppressing a sigh, I trudge on through the forsaken sand, wondering how I would ever get the truth out.

 _What happens if someone takes off my glove and sees the truth? What happens if I'm stuck with this tattoo forever?_

 _Damn that King Validar! I don't care if he can hear my thoughts, but if it ruins my life... I'll make sure I'll see the blood drain out of him with my sword!_

* * *

After a trip almost twice as long as the trip to Plegia, as it seemed for me, we arrived back at the Barracks. Without a word, I scurried to the back of the Barracks and glanced around to see if anyone was there. Seeing no one, I took a deep breath and took off my right glove. The eye stared at me endlessly, making me feel unnerved.

Tracing the image on my wrist, I see it suddenly blink- the ink moves on my hand, alarming me. My heart lurches as I yelp. Pain fills my head as someone else grabs my wrist.

"Aggh!" I hear myself cry out. The pain gradually gets stronger, and I feel nauseated within each passing second.

"Ke...ri... hap...g...?" Through the pain, I could barely hear anything. I slumped against whoever stood next to me. Their arm wraps around me to make sure I don't fall, but I barely take note of that as I shut my eyes, trying to fight the pain.

And all of a sudden, it fades as quickly as it had come. Confused, I tilt my head back to lean against the person's shoulder.

"Ke'ri... Are you alright? I'm sorry if I caused you harm... you looked as if you were in pain as I came to you." Lon'qu immediately said as I gave a pained sigh of relief after the pain subsided.

Exhaustion overwhelmed me. Lon'qu sits down, cross-legged, and my head rests in his lap.

"I don't even know why the tattoo causes me pain..." I breathe. "I had to keep it a secret, or it would cause more pain."

He nods in understanding. "So that's what he gave you."

"What should I do...?"

"I don't know... It kind of looks like one of the eyes on Robin's mark... maybe it has something to do with Robin. But tell me if anything happens regarding that mark of yours."

Suddenly feeling slightly better, I sit up. Lon'qu stops holding my hand, seemingly embarrassed. Realizing that Lon'qu was holding my hand all along, I felt my face flush red as I glance away for the slightest moment to redeem myself.

"Uh... I'm... s-sorry..." Lon'qu tries to apologize.

"Eh. Don't worry. It's not like we never held hands before. Remember, all those years ago?"

* * *

 _"Hey, Lon'qu!" I spot Lon'qu at once and run towards him. Running towards the boy who's a year older than me, I run into his open arms. "Thank you so much for the gift. It's the best birthday present ever!"_

 _My new bracelet shone brightly in the sun. Each bead has a different design, all contributing to its beauty._

 _Lon'qu made a bashful smile. "You're welcome, Ke'ri."_

 _I make a high-pitched laugh before holding Lon'qu's hand. "You're the best! C'mon, I wanted to show you something!"_

 _Running while dragging the boy along, I eventually arrive at my destination: a flowery meadow with a grand tree in the center of the large area._

 _Slowing to a stop at the tree, I sit down, and Lon'qu takes a seat next to me. Our sides touch as I lean against him._

 _"Your birthday's in four weeks! I have to think about what I should give you."_

 _"No, to be exact, it's two in a half weeks." Lon'qu chuckles as he corrects me. "Today's September 16th."_

 _"Aren't you excited to turn twelve?" I asked._

 _"Kinda." Lon'qu responded. "How do you feel being eleven now?"_

 _"I feel much older than before!" I say honestly. "A new year in my life!"_

 _"Much older?"_

 _"Well, a little bit older." I corrected myself._ _"What do you think you'll do when you become twenty?"_

 _"I want to train to be the greatest swordsman alive, and I'll probably travel to see different countries and challenge many different people."_

 _"Can I go with you? Maybe we can both be the greatest swords people alive!"_

 _Lon'qu takes my hand. "Of course."_

* * *

I smile at the distant thought. "Remember when we sat under that tree, even through the winter?"

Lon'qu made a chuckle, his deep voice filling the silence.

"I guess you kind of fulfilled that goal. You were Regna Ferox's champion for the West Khan for a while, as you told me."

"Was. That masked swordswoman beat me. She's better."

"Well, she has a legendary sword on her side, as Chrom told me during the battle between the Khan's champions. You only lost to that swords-woman because of your fear. You would do a lot better if you challenged her again."

"...True."

"And now, we can both be the greatest swords people alive. Right?"

"Of course, Ke'ri." Lon'qu says, hesitating before taking my hand. _Just like that memory..._

* * *

 **AN: And that's Chapter six to you! Hope you enjoyed it, where we see the bond between Ke'ri and Lon'qu grow stronger! Thank you for reading!**


	7. Memories

**AN: Hello again! Please comment for suggestions, and recommendations are still open for the boy mentioned a few chapters ago in that dream!**

* * *

"Look at them!" I hear a high pitched giggle as I groggily open my eyes. I realize that Lon'qu and I had dozed off afterwards. I was leaning on a boulder behind me, as well as on Lon'qu's shoulder. Yawning, I glance up to see Sumia, Maribelle, and Lissa standing in front of us. I glanced at my right wrist, and the glove was back on, which meant that the trio couldn't have noticed the mark.

"You two are so cute together!"

"W-what?" I feel my face warm as I glance at Lon'qu. "What are you implying?"

Lissa giggled again. "We went to look for you two because you two weren't at dinner. And we found you two here!"

"Do you like him?" came the question I was dreading. Maribelle winked at me, and my face felt as if it was on fire.

"No! I don't! Not like what you think!" I panic. "Just as childhood friends!"

Lissa sighed. "Oohhh... I can sense love in the air! Just look at your face!"

"Lissa, I don't think we should be torturing her. What if we pointed out your love for Ri-" Sumia gave me a sympathetic look.

"No, no! Don't mention it!" Lissa half-screamed. "Shut up!"

Sumia shook her head. "That's what I mean."

"What's going on?" I feel Lon'qu stir beside me.

I glance at him as he surveys the situation. His face turns beet red, and quickly stands up. "Well... uh... excuse me..."

He quickly walks away without another word, and I sigh, looking at Lissa and Maribelle.

"I'll be going, too." I say, disappointed. "Thank you for coming to tell us we missed dinner."

Without hearing any of the three say anything, I run up to meet Lon'qu.

"Don't you think rumors are going to go around?" Lon'qu rubs his face with his hands.

"It's fine. And they don't understand. They wouldn't understand that we are just spending time together like our old childhood days."

We arrived at the mess tent. Grabbing a bowl of whatever was left (not much because of Stahl), we sat next to the dying fire that kept the meat stew still warm.

"Let's spar after."

"Sure." Lon'qu agrees.

I sipped some of the stew in my bowl before raising my gaze to meet Lon'qu's.

"What do you think will happen if those rumors do spread?" I ask curiously. His face turned red again, and I thought about teasing him for it.

"Well, I hope it doesn't." He mumbles.

We both fall silent, listening to the crackling sounds the burning wood made as well as the crickets, which chirped constantly from secret hiding places.

"You know, it's fun to see your face turn red."

"Ke'ri!" Lon'qu says, surprised.

"I bet when the rumors spread, they'll be teasing us all about it, saying things like, 'Ke'ri and Lon'qu sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g'! I think Vaike would definitely do that, and maybe even Nowi."

Lon'qu could only cover his reddened face. "Ke'ri, please...!"

"People are gonna play matchmaker on us." I predict. "Especially Lissa! Alright... I'll stop now."

"Ugh." he responded. "I hate you."

"And I love you, too!" I laugh. Lon'qu's head shoots up as his face grows even redder.

" _What_?"

"It was a joke, y'know."

"Oh."

 _Maybe I shouldn't have said that..._

Pushing the awkwardness aside, I smiled at him. "So, you done yet? I just finished dinner. It's getting late, so we need to spar soon before it's too dark out."

He nods, gulping down the rest of his stew and putting all of the dishes into the pile of unwashed dishes. "Let's go."

* * *

It was yet another tough match, but the fight only lasted a few minutes this time. Sword fights didn't usually last long in reality.

I lost after Lon'qu outsmarted me with even my newest ideas I had thought up of just before the match.

"You okay there?" he asked after I had surrendered, sprawled on the ground.

I took his outstretched hand. "Yup. Thank you. It was a good match."

I could barely see him in the dark, but still smiled nonetheless.

"What do you want to do now?" he asked.

I shrug before I realize that he probably can't see me well in the dark. I reply, "I dunno."

The moment right after I go to suggest something else, a light flickers in the tent. A soft, green glow shines for only a few seconds before it fades away.

 _A firefly._

"Wow." I step closer to the source of the light, almost tripping over a training dummy in the way. The glow appears closer to me as it flashes again, and then it suddenly vanishes all too quickly.

"I got it for you." Lon'qu chuckles triumphantly.

"You know, this wasn't a race." I pout, but then somehow, he finds my hands and puts the firefly on my palm. As the firefly glows, its light bathes my hand with a soft green light.

I extend my hand as the tiny bug crawls to the end of my index finger. Spreading its wings, it takes off again. Again, we watch the bug occasionally glow as it soars to the top of the large tent.

"Let's catch fireflies." I say, inspired by the firefly. Somehow picking my way out of the tent without tripping over any stray training dummy or sword, I make it outside. the moon, despite being only a thin crescent in the sky, gives off a surprisingly large amount of light. Each blade of grass appears to be silver under the moon's light. Lon'qu stands to my right, looking out for fireflies. One flies a short distance away, and like a race, we both head towards it.

"My firefly." I smirk as I cup my hands around the fly as carefully as I could. After watching it blink a few times, I release it, but Lon'qu catches it almost as soon as it leaves my hands.

"Well, it's mine now."

"You cheater!" I wanted to howl, but lowered it to a sharp whisper to avoid disturbing others from their sleep.

Catching fireflies quickly became a wrestling fight. I tackled Lon'qu and he fell, lying on the soft grass. Rolling around, the swordsman and I continued to fight until I lost. Lon'qu only had to pin me down with one arm, his hand resting on my shoulder. Exhausted, I gave up; I would have never been able to win anyway.

"You always win." I grumbled.

Something light tickled my nose, and I nearly sneezed. Looking cross-eyed to see what had landed on my nose, he chuckled. I realize a firefly had landed on my nose, and before Lon'qu can claim for his own, I put my hand over my nose. This makes Lon'qu, who was reaching over, to put a hand on my hand. It was just dark enough outside, so he wouldn't see me blush.

"I think I won the firefly catching game, though." I smirk, and he groans.

"Fine. You won that." He releases me and I sit up, brushing off the soil and grass that stuck to my outfit.

As I release the second firefly I caught, I hold back Lon'qu's arms so he can't reach out and catch it.

"That's not happening again." I giggle, watching as the firefly buzzed away into the darkness. I find myself leaning against Lon'qu's shoulder as I feel the weariness creep in.

"I'm not your pillow." Lon'qu crosses his arms after he flicks my nose.

"H-hey!" I yelp. "You're so mean. Can't you be a little nicer to your tired friend?"

"Heh."

"So... Do you think we could visit our parents back in Chron'sin?" I suddenly remembered the times we caught bugs back at home.

"We can visit your parents... My parents died." Lon'qu's voice suddenly dropped, and I regretted asking that.

"Lon'qu... I'm sorry..."

He sighed. "It's alright. You didn't know anyway. I guess I should've told you before."

"You would still go back to visit my parents? Or would you not want to?"

"I wouldn't mind anyway." Lon'qu responded. "Your parents would be overjoyed to see you; it would be a miracle to them."

"When I... died... what happened?"

"Well... here's what happened..." he replied hesitantly.

* * *

 _"I'm sorry." Lon'qu whispered as Ke'ri's parents arrived at the scene. They could not avert their gaze to the motionless body at the edge of the scene. Recognizing the body at once, they froze, disbelief clear in their gazes._

 _At first, they gaped in shock. Ke'ri's mother's eyes started to brim with tears. A single tear rolled down her cheek before she burst out sobbing. "My daughter!"_

 _The mother ran over and collapsed at the twelve-year-old's inert body, eyes widening at the arrow still in her chest. Holding her daughter's shoulders, her sobs filled the air, and Lon'qu wished he had never seen such a scene._

 _Ke'ri's father rushed over eventually, snapping out of shock. He, unlike his wife, cried silently, tears shedding and landing on the girl's dress._

 _Lon'qu only watched, and went to back away before Ke'ri's mother suddenly stood up and stormed to him._

 _"You cursed monster!" she screamed, and the thirteen-year old winced as her hand smacked his face hard. A stinging pain rose in his cheek. "You let our daughter die! You dastard!"_

 _The father came and threw heartbreaking words at him, and with the mother, they both assaulted him with insults and cries of anger and grief._

 _Eventually, the mother had shoved the boy and picked up her daughter before leaving with the father. With another piercing glare, the two turned away and left the boy on the ground. He turned and walked away, tears rolling down his own face._

 _She saved him, but not without the cost of her own life. His parents wouldn't understand. Being close to Ke'ri's parents, they would never believe him. It was a secret forever concealed, a truth that would never be exposed._

 _And he never wanted the blame, but he knew he was at fault. He wished they would think twice before attacking him with vicious words and merciless shoves._

 _"But... I deserved it." he whispered. "I deserved it."_

I'm sorry, Ke'ri, _he covered his face in his hands, releasing a small sob, barely audible in the silence._ It was all my fault. You shouldn't have died. I should've.

* * *

"... Lon'qu..." I breathe out. Lon'qu had fallen silent, and though I couldn't see his face, I knew that he had started to cry.

"I should have died. Not you."

"No. You're important to me. I'd rather die for you." I say, persistent.

"You're not making it any better!" he snapped, before lowering his voice. "I'm s-sorry... I shouldn't have snapped at you..."

I felt a lump in my throat as I glanced at my swordsman friend. "Here."

I wrap my arms around him in an embrace, and he returns the action.

"I'm here now. That's what matters." I try to comfort him. "I'll talk to my parents. They didn't understand that I wanted you to live."

My words were met with silence. Patiently waiting for him to calm down, I rub his back soothingly.

"...P-promise m-me that you w-won't leave me again." His voice came out as a hoarse whisper, one I could barely hear.

"I promise, Lon'qu. I promise..."

"G-good." he responded.

After he visibly seems to calm down, I stop hugging Lon'qu and I stand up. "It's late... I think we should get some sleep."

He nods without a word.

"Good night." I smile softly. He nods, and I turn and head to my tent. I don't hear footsteps behind me as I head to sleep.

 _I'm sorry, Lon'qu._

* * *

 **AN: I hope this chapter wasn't so bad! I've never actually had to deal with a death in the family before, and I hope those moments in the chapter weren't very insensitive. Please comment; suggestions are strongly welcomed for a name for the boy mentioned a few chapters ago of Chron'sin descent, and for what ways to enhance the story!**


	8. Lies

**AN: Once again, thanks for reading! I really appreciate it! And I can't believe I didn't write for so long! :(**

 **I've had these tooth pains, and after a week of heat sensitivity, the dentists told me I need a root canal surgery. And I'm only in tenth grade! At least I found out why I have so much tooth pain. My back tooth had a big cavity around three years ago, and the dentists put a big filling in it.**

 **I'm always open to your opinions and suggestions... So far, I feel as if it's really strange to have no comments.**

 **If not, that's okay... The follows and the favorites will do!**

* * *

The soft light of dawn shines through a hole at the top left corner of the tent. I sit up, stretching and shaking off all signs of sleepiness before putting on my myrmidon outfit and stepping outside.

"Good morning, Ke'ri." Someone says. Turning, I see that Chrom had spoken to me.

 _Surprising to see him up early._

"Morning, Chrom."

"Today, we are starting our trip to Chron'sin. And Lon'qu did tell me that you and him would want to visit your parents."

"Since when did he tell you that?"

"Last night."

 _Oh... so that's why._

"So, you would allow me to visit my home village, right?" I asked.

The blue-haired lord nods. "Of course."

I bowed. "Thank you so much."

"Thank Lon'qu; he mentioned it to me. By the way, if you were wondering, he's at the edge of the camp right now. I suppose that you wanted to look for him."

 _Is he implying the same thing Lissa and Maribelle had said the day before? How does he know?_

Lissa must have told him that for sure. Giving a small sigh after Chrom walked out of sight, I found my way to the edge of camp to find no one.

 _Chrom, you liar!_ I had taken a second glance around before someone jumped at me. I yelped in fright and my hand flew to my sword at my side. Before I could do that, someone's arms pinned my arms to my side. I glance up to see a familiar dark-haired man.

"Lon'qu, you jerk!" I shouted, struggling. "What the hell?!"

Lon'qu burst out laughing. "You're not as alert as before. And Chrom did a fantastic job of making you fall for the trap."

I duck away as soon as he lets go of me, and I end up tripping, landing face-first on the ground.

"Are you trying to act like Sumia?" he chuckled, reaching down to tickle my neck.

"Are you trying to be as annoying as Virion?" I retort, rolling away and standing up once again, taking Lon'qu's outstretched hand.

"You're being as grumpy as Maribelle." Lon'qu snickers. "Or Lissa, when she has to walk in the long marches."

"Why are you comparing me with them?" I glare, punching him lightly.

"Look, okay, I have news. From Cherche." Lon'qu sighed suddenly. "Please don't be mad at me. But while reading it... I kind of figured out some things."

He gives me a neatly folded letter. I open it slowly and read.

 _Dear Lon'qu,_

 _Perhaps it was wrong of us to blame you for the death of our daughter. We didn't see the full picture. The lovely pink-haired lady with the Wyvern told us the story; she watched what happened and told us a few months earlier. News had somewhat spread that you were the famous champion for Khan Basilio, even if you aren't now. Achieving that position takes much effort and should be rewarded for._

 _While my husband has been deathly ill for quite a while, I've been wondering about you and Ke'ri. I never asked Ke'ri about you. I've only seen you often. It's only a shame we couldn't... Ke'ri told us all about you. I do remember the time she cooked bear meat for us; I was more than proud to have such a talented daughter._

 _We ask that you come visit us again so we can pay our apologies for being so cold-hearted and rude to you when we saw our little angel die... My husband and I have had so much hatred in you for years until we realized it wasn't your fault. Ke'ri cherished you so much, like as if you were more than just a friend to her._

 _From,_

 _Te'ri and Ke'tor_

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"You know, the last sentence."

 _Ke'ri cherished you so much, like as if you were more than just a friend to her._

 _It must have been obvious I did have a crush on him before_... I feel my face warm in embarrassment.

"Oh. So that's what you figured out."

"You had a crush on me, didn't you?" Lon'qu teases me, face breaking into a smile.

"You're a great man, but you've jumped to conclusions way too quickly. And you're too hopeful."

"Oh, really?"

"Really." I fib. "Just because I told my parents a lot about you doesn't mean that I liked you." _Haha, burn!_

Lon'qu's face fell suddenly. "Sorry about that, then. Forget about it."

 _I happen to say the worst things, don't I?_

Before I could talk to him again, he walks away rather briskly.

 _It can't be... he likes me back? No way would he be so disappointed and walk away like that._

Despite of the situation at hand caused by myself, I felt joy bubble on.

 _...He likes me!_

* * *

Lon'qu wouldn't talk to me the whole day, and it felt unnerving to not spend time with my best friend. I watched him sit at the opposite edge of the fire during the cold evening, hugging my arms around my legs and rocking back and forth. Not once did he make eye-contact with me, and I bite my lip.

 _I've said a lot of wrong things my entire life... Hopefully I can make it up one day. This was all my fault._

"Lon'qu." I say softly, but loud enough to be heard over the dying fire. He almost looks up, but remains apathetic.

I sigh. "Well, good night then." I stand up and leave. Hearing no one follow me, I pushed back the tent cover to make my way into the tent.

 _I've ruined someone's day, and obviously I shouldn't have. There must be a way to make it up to him. But at least he might like me._

Flopping onto the cot with a heavy sigh, I stare up at the tent's ceiling until my eyes shut from weariness. Tomorrow could be the start of another battle, especially out in the open seas across to Chron'sin. The thoughts of my mother and ill father came back to mind. Well, at least there was some good news today.

I tried to imagine my parents' expression when they would see me. Would they be excited? Surprised? Joyful and tearful at my appearance?

 _But wait- what if they don't believe I'm alive? What if they think that I am still dead? What if they think I'm an imposter? What it-_

"Are you alright?" Lissa peeked into the tent, and my eyes blink open. Sitting up quickly, I shake my head at Lissa, realizing I must have spoken out loud. "I'm alright. I'm just thinking about my parents. I don't know how they will act when I come to see them. I hope that they would be happy to see me back, but what if they don't believe that I'm alive again, that I might be an imposter?"

"You'll be fine!" Lissa put on a sympathetic face. "I'm sure that if you prove it to them, they'll believe it if they didn't already."

"Thanks, Lissa."

"By the way, what happened earlier? Why did you and Lon'qu not spar today? Why did you two not talk at all?"

"I'd rather not explain." I huff. "Maybe tomorrow? It was just a misunderstanding that I hope to fix soon."

"Don't worry; you will! I'm sure you will!" Lissa responded cheerfully. The frown on my face soon turned into a soft smile at the sight of her optimism. She then left as quickly as she had came, and I heard giggles fading as she went back to her own tent.

"I hope, Lissa." I sigh. "I hope..."

* * *

Once again, morning light softly shines into my tent as I awaken. Rubbing my eyes, I realize that I would have to soon prepare for the trip overseas. I fix my messed-up dark hair and walk out of the tent to see nobody around. I look back at the mark on my wrist, slightly visible against my glove. It hadn't been completely covered by the clothes, but it would hopefully be alright.

"Watch it!"

I couldn't believe those words had come from Lon'qu to me. Snapping out of my small reverie, I realize I had bumped into the swordsman.

"What's wrong?" He did look exhausted, I noted. "Why the attitude? Was it me or something? Did you get enough sleep?"

"..."

"It's still around the crack of dawn. Get some sleep, Lon'qu. I care about your health." I sigh.

"I'm not. I need to train."

"Stop being so stubborn!" I snap, taking Lon'qu's wrist. "You are getting some sleep. And if you couldn't sleep because of me, I'm sorry. So please, get some rest. You never know what might happen out in the seas."

Regardless or not about how awkward it seemed to drag Lon'qu back to his tent, I forced Lon'qu to lie back on the cot, and I laid out a blanket on him.

I sigh. "Tell me why you didn't sleep last night."

"I slept last night!"

"But you didn't get enough rest." The anger fades away as I sit on the side of his cot. "Just tell me why. Was it because of what I said before?"

"Fine. Yes, it was."

"I didn't mean it that way." I shook my head. "You're still important to me, no matter what."

Lon'qu inhales a deep, long breath before speaking. "I'm sorry for being so... ignorant."

"I forgive you." I make a small smile. "Will you get some rest for me? Please? We have a long boat ride soon."

"I will." he responds slowly.

Standing up, I glance back at him one last time. "Good."

Leaving, I go to slash at some practice dummies, scoring a few marks across the wooden bodies. At least it helped me forget a few of the concerns with Lon'qu for the time as I landed slash after slash. It wasn't until an hour later that I went to go back and check on Lon'qu. Sleeping peacefully, I couldn't help but gaze at him.

 _Stop staring at him! What are you doing, Ke'ri? People will spread rumors! Stop. Staring!_

I backed out of the tent and left to eat breakfast, deciding to check on him a little later. Thankfully, Stahl had not woken up yet, so all of the food remained. Cordelia had made breakfast today. Normally, it would have been Sully's day, but everyone didn't mind that she skipped her routine and let Cordelia do the cooking for her- well, ugh, it's already so _cringe worthy_ , even when Lon'qu explained just a small fraction of Sully's 'talent'.

"Thank you, Cordelia," I nod as I take some bread and jam and sit across from her.

"I see that Lon'qu has been acting cold towards you." Cordelia suddenly says.

 _Why does everyone talk about Lon'qu and I like that?_

"Well, yeah. There was a slight misunderstanding." I explain.

She only nods. "I'm sure he will understand, considering you're his best friend."

Taking a bite out of the fresh bread, I savor the fresh wheat that was so difficult to salvage in these times. Eventually, I give another sigh. "He didn't get enough sleep last night."

"He didn't seem tired at all." Cordelia contradicted.

"I just know when he's tired. He wouldn't be so snappish with me, unless that was because of his gynophobia towards me. I doubt that thought because he hasn't acted that way to me before. I just knew." Propping my head up with my right arm, I glance at Cordelia.

"Oh hey, Ke'ri."

I turned to see Stahl walk up.

"Hi." I glance at the huge mound of food on his plate, and he sets the plate down. Cordelia makes an amused smile.

"How do you always eat a lot?" Cordelia laughed. "You must have a bottomless stomach!"

"I just do." Stahl took a bite out of the small loaf of bread.

"Well, how are you both doing? How's Severa?"

"She just turned two. Sucks that we can't celebrate her second birthday..." Stahl sighed. "At least she has Cynthia and Lucina."

"I wonder how all of them are doing." I couldn't help but think about the two babies.

It was war... what else could we have expected?

Love and war don't match. It's like oil and water... I think.

"Maybe sometime later you can visit. And one day, when the children grow up, they'll understand."

"Hopefully they will. Something tells me that at least one child won't particularly happy." Cordelia shook her head. "I hope this war ends soon. Our children need their parents."

"What about you?" I hear a cheery voice.

At first I don't answer.

"Don't you look forward to having a family-" I hear Lissa sit down next to me.

"What? Why would you say that?"

"Because-" I shush her right after, knowing where this was going to.

"Lissa. I'm not looking to have a family now, in times of war." I sigh. "There are times for everything, and there's plenty of time after the war to have a family. But not now. I don't want any child of mine to be separated from me or their father because of war."

"True... What about Lon'qu?"

"Why Lon'qu?" I take another small bite out of the bread. _There's not going to be another time that we'll get fresh food like this._ "What, are there rumors?"

"No, but I myself, along with Sumia and Maribelle know your little secret."

"What secret?" Cordelia asked, tilting her head with interest.

I cringe as I hear Lissa start to say what she believed. "I think L-"

"Stop, Lissa!" I groan. "Don't you dare."

"Lissa, Ke'ri's right. You wouldn't want your secrets being spoiled, right?"

"Sorry, Ke'ri." Lissa murmured. "It's just that everyone's so _cranky_. I wish there was a way to fix it."

"No. I'm sorry, Lissa." I sigh. "It's because of this stupid war. What you believe is somewhat right... but having a family at this time... you know... it's not going to be a good time for children to be left alone."

"When do you think this next war will end? We've already been through a war in this continent, and now we're fighting in a war across the sea..."

"We can only hope that in these next fights, we'll all be safe. In a land that we barely know of that well, we're sure to have the disadvantage. All we can hope for is to have good luck and safety on the next battles we must encounter."

 _I hope. I hope everyone can live throughout the war. There's already been a close call or two... And that was at the end of the Plegian war. How many near deaths- or actual deaths- will we go through?_

* * *

 ** _Sorry for being away for so long!_**

 **I'm not that good at romance, but the more I try, hopefully the better I will get at it! Everything feels so... _obvious_ , but maybe it's because it's me whose writing, so I would know what is going on. I cringe at my own romance writing, but I guess it might turn out better than I expected... or worse.**

 **I actually got Fire Emblem Fates, both Conquest and Birthright! I played Conquest first on Normal Classic mode, and it was hard. Birthright is so easy! Maybe that's because I playing it on Casual mode, but for the most part, if someone dies, I still shut it off (the units need experience!). And plus, infinite grinding (Rhajat's paralogue was the best - I put all defensive people at the corner and let hundreds of Faceless do no damage to my units, while my units were all getting over-leveled). In Conquest, only two people died (in the endgame) were Midori and Percy.**

 **Favorite weapons:** Horse Spirit, Raider weapons, Barb shuriken, Guard Naginata, Waterwheel, Paper (scroll), Dragonstones/Beaststones

 **Favorite characters for both paths: Corrin (of course!)** , Kaze (married in Birthright), Silas (married in Conquest), Sophie (Luna, Draconic Hex), Midori (Dragon Fang, Astra, Spendthrift!), Kana (Luna, Dragon Fang)

 **Conquest:** Velouria (wolfskins! Easy recovery), Soleil (excellent strength and defense), Nina (snipes down enemies easily), Ophelia (magic powerhouse, yet frail), Siegbert and Xander (already strong), Charlotte (frail, but gets constant criticals!)

 **Birthright:** Takumi (Has Rend Heaven, Luna, Counter, Tomebreaker, high skill), Hayato (Lucky with stat growths, +5 or more for half of his level-ups, Rend heaven, but worst in skill), Shiro (Luna, Aegis, and Rend Heaven, activates often. Maxed out defense), Mitama (high magic +Tomefaire), Azura (lately has been getting defense!), Mozu (Great level ups!)

I've been training a few of the units who had been under-leveled units. Mozu got +5 and +6 when I trained her for at least five levels, and Setsuna got decent level ups for once, Kagero got great level ups and got Rend Heaven. Subaki is still too slow, even as a Kinshi knight. Felicia has crap defense, but excellent magic (considered making her a strategist, but would decrease defense by 3, making her defense only 5 - wtf), Saizo got good level ups as well, and when trying to lower other enemies' HPs, he ended up activating Lethality. But in the arena battles, he and his son both ended up using Lethality during nearly all the matches.

This month has been rough, and mostly, I've been playing Fates during the night. I wished I could have typed more.

If you play Fates, who are your favorite characters? And are there any suggestions for what skills some characters should have? I love Rend Heaven and Luna, and even Astra and Dragon Fang. I also like Counter. Are there any other skills I should consider?

(Wow, that was a lot I wrote about my favorite characters... I've just finally got my wish to play the recent Fire Emblem versions. I've wanted it since my birthday, and now that I have a job, I finally paid it all off.)


	9. Valm

**SoaringHawk here again! After that Fire Emblem Fates list I made in the bottom of the last chapter, I'm wondering if I could fight anybody and get unique skills (however, I'm always short on money, and I'm not buying any DLC except for the free ones). And maybe I got hacked skills. I really don't know (like Aptitude). But, I really don't mind, as I'm not a competitive player.**

 **I should also list out the pairings for myself and for all of you who are reading this.**

 **Chrom x Sumia, Sully x Vaike, Ke'ri x Lon'qu, Donnel x Nowi, Gaius x Tharja, Stahl x Cordelia, Frederick x Olivia, Gregor x Miriel, Libra x Maribelle, Kellam x Cherche, Henry x Panne**

 **Who's left? Anna, Say'ri, Robin**

 **(I think I might have made a few errors; hopefully by next chapter, the list'll be confirmed. Give me a suggestion: Who should Robin be paired with? A child character, or one of the non-supportable characters?)**

 **On with the story!**

* * *

I'm sure there's something off with Lon'qu today, just like yesterday, and the day before. We've traveled to Valm after an intense fight over the ocean. I've never seen so much fire in my life. The waters were on fire.

It was an insane decision, but it worked! Robin had told everyone to dump the oil and fuel and ignite it, and it eliminated the enemy ships around us.

We found a dark mage, Henry, who loves crows. And he can speak to the crows! And he makes a lot of crow puns. It was funny at first, but now many people like Frederick have to restrain themselves from face-palming.

Virion returned, bringing a wyvern rider by the name of Cherche. Dragons are so fascinating! I couldn't help but reach out and pet the wyvern, Minerva. Minerva seemed so surprised. I guess that people are scared of Minerva, and they end up shying away from her.

"I'm seasick." Lon'qu grumbled, clinging onto the side of the ship and looking into the waters.

"Haha, you looks so vulnerable!" I laugh. "Look out to the horizon. It might stop your queasiness."

"Are you excited to see your parents again?"

"Of course I am! Thanks for asking Chrom for us to see our hometown. I'm glad. After so many years, when they thought I was dead. Well, I was, but I don't know... how would they react? I came back to life. They could take this in so many ways."

"Ke'ri, relax. You're their daughter. They'll be more than glad to see you alive. The impossible has happened, and I think they'll be joyed to see that you're here again. The look on their faces after you died... They would have done anything to see you smile again. And so did I."

"Aww..." I shift closer to the seasick swordsman. "I'll make everyone smile."

"I would be smiling, but damn this boat ride. I'm still sick."

"Are you going to throw up?"

"... Ugh... maybe."

"Alright. I'm going somewhere else. I'd prefer not to witness anybody hurling guts into the sea."

* * *

After days of sailing, we finally saw land.

"Home is so close..." I whisper. "Mother, Father, I'm coming back!"

Kjelle and Lucina, the two children from the future, walk up to the front of the boat. During the same battle when we found Henry, we also found Lucina, Sumia's and Chrom's daughter. Kjelle was found after in another battle. She had Vaike's blonde hair, and just as much strength as her father. Supposedly, there were more children around in Valm, and maybe back in Ylisse or Plegia.

"I wonder where he is." Lucina was murmuring. "He's a great swordmaster. Kind as well. I hope he's okay. Last time I saw him, he looked so upset. All of our parents died, and his parents were the last to fall."

 _Which child?_

"You mean O-"

"Shh. We can't say names!"

"O-oh... Okay." Kjelle whispered back.

"Land's ahead! We'll arrive in around an hour! Caw caw!" Henry shouted. _Wait, how did he even get there? I swear, he was walking near the front of the boat a few minutes ago. Did a giant crow just lift him there? Hmmm... about Henry and his love of crows, and the crow's nest of the ship... did someone plan this?_

Deciding to pack my belongings, as Chrom advised after Henry called from the crow's nest, I went down to the bunks and shoved the few belongings I had into my backpack. Since Lon'qu was still probably throwing up, I decided to pack his belongings as well.

Under his pillow was a small leather journal.

 _That's very un-Lon'qu of Lon'qu to write down things. He's usually so reserved that he wouldn't bother writing things down like that._

I find myself trying to peek at the pages.

 _Open it._

 _Don't open it._

 _..._

 _Screw it, haha, I'm reading this!_

And so, I open the book to find messy words scrawled into neat lines, objects bookmarking almost every single page. A few items fall out: a faded drawing, a beaded necklace, a pressed flower bracelet. My eyes catch glimpses of each sentence, messy, but legible.

And each word makes my eyes widen.

 _He could not have possibly thought that about me!_

"Oh, my."

Looking around to make sure Lon'qu wasn't going to march in at any moment, I quickly put some of the small items back between the pages, scanning a few sentences that were clearer than the rest.

 _"Does she really think of me as just a childhood friend, or is she lying?"_

Okay, well, maybe he's seeing through my lies.

 _"Would she ever understand my fear of women? What if I that it was because_ _of her?"_

What? Oh... I more than understood that I was the cause for Lon'qu's fear. _I want to help you overcome that fear that I caused._

 _"Why is my fear of women still not gone, even though she came back to life?"_

Well, because, those memories you must have of me were dear to you, and it's been so long before I came that you were alone. Of course you still feel that way; In a way, you might not believe I'm living, because I practically achieved the impossible. I probably remind you of the old me when I died before. My death will still affect you, even though I came back.

 _"I might screw up our friendship because I fear women... Would she understand or not?"_

I haven't seen much happen to our friendship. Well, Lon'qu, our friendship is strong, but I've kept screwing it up from lying to you.

"What are you doing?"

 _Crud. No, no, no! Oh, no! He's gonna be so mad at me!_

I close the notebook and turn around to see Lon'qu.

"... Sorry, Lon'qu." I murmur. "I just wanted to pack up your stuff because you were feeling sick, and when I came across your journal... I couldn't help but read it. I'm so sorry."

 _Oh no, me and my crappy decisions!_

"Ke'ri!" He was blushing wildly. "Don't do that again!"

"I didn't read much." I admit. "You might be a little different because your fear of women, but it's okay. Lon'qu, if it's anything, it's me who's messing everything up. Not you."

He seems to relax, so I quickly hand the journal back to him. _Wow, he's not mad at me? Why?_

"You don't have to hide anything with me."

"Well, you don't have too, either."

 _True. That is so, very, true._

I've been hiding so many feelings from him, I might as well be a hypocrite.

* * *

"I can't wait!" I could barely contain my excitement. "We're finally gonna see my parents! They'll be so happy!"

Lon'qu chuckled at my happiness. "You're acting like a five-year old."

"Shut up! Stop being a killjoy." I sigh, kicking his leg. "Don't be grumpy. Are you still seasick?"

"No, thank the gods." Lon'qu shook his head. "We'd better get going. Chrom wanted everyone to march inland, where we'll find a place to camp. Tomorrow, we'll see your parents."

 _I really can't wait!_

"How did you get to Ferox, anyway?" I asked. "Why did you leave Chron'sin?"

It occurred to me that through the time we reunited, I never asked him of what happened years after my death. I didn't want to bother him with his memories of grief.

"I ran away from Chron'sin. I wanted to become stronger, and I heard distant news that Ferox had these tournaments. And I thought that if I could train and fight in one of those competitions, I would get stronger. So I traveled to Ferox by boat and I met Khan Basilio. I became his champion after defeating the former champion. I don't remember him, but being champion was all that mattered to me before."

I put my hands in my pockets and looked down at the sandy ground. Unlike the sand at Plegia, this sand was damp and significantly less bothersome. "Why did you want to become stronger? Was it because of me...?"

He remained silent for at least half a minute. Eventually, he nodded. "Yes, yes I did. I wanted to be stronger so that people close to me wouldn't die because of me."

"I'm sorry, Lon'qu." I sigh. "You obviously went through all this trouble and hardship because of me."

"It's alright." he shook his head. "You didn't have to apologize. I still have a long way to become stronger."

"Why? You're strong already!"

"You beat me in one of our sparring matches. I think that says enough."

"Just because I beat you once doesn't mean you're weak. Maybe because you were going easy on me because I'm a girl."

The swordsman shook his head again. "I tried my best, but still."

"Stop doubting yourself!" I chided. "Lon'qu, I think it's time you felt positive about yourself."

Our conversation slowly died down, and we were trailing at the back of the group, none of us speaking a word. Eventually, after hours of walking, we arrived at a mountainous area.

It looked so familiar.

A cherry tree stood all alone in a field of flowers and grass. Something was engraved in the trunk of the tree, barely legible at a far distance. Two people were kneeling by the tree. They were murmuring prayers of some sort, sitting under the tree.

"We must already be in Chron'sin." I heard Lon'qu say.

I couldn't help but glance at the two people at the tree. Robin, Chrom, and the others had marched closer to the trees, several feet away, and started unfolding tents and unloading materials.

Lon'qu was silent, gazing at the cherry tree. "Remember this place?"

"I think... This whole place is familar, Lon'qu. Is this... home?"

"I'm pretty sure it is. I mean, cherry trees are kind of common, and there are plenty of meadows like this. I'm not sure if this is the exact place or not."

"Alright. I'll go ask those two."

Taking a few cautious steps closer, I smell the aroma of flowers. I turn back to Lon'qu, but he's looking away. So, I confront the two people kneeling at the tree.

"Hey, excuse me?" I ask as soon as the two finish prayers. "Can you tell me where..."

Before I could finish my sentence, I had trailed off, my mouth wide open in shock.

The two people stared back at me, not knowing how to react.

There was no need to finish my question.

I was home... home at last.

* * *

 **AN: Thanks for reading! I'll be sure to start the next chapter soon... I'll start writing it as soon as possible. I have inspiration to keep writing, so I can't wait to post more chapters! Bye for now!**


	10. Cherry Tree

**AN: I'm back again! With not much to say, I'm excited for this story! I hope you are, too!**

* * *

My mind could barely register the two people in front of me. It wasn't until a full two minutes later that I finally managed to say something.

"Mother? Father?" I whispered. "Is that really you?"

"It can't be... you were dead..." the woman said. It had to be. That was Mother, her bold, brown eyes, dark hair, and the necklace she wore everyday gave her away. Father always had a bow and arrow with him, along with a knife. His hair had slowly dulled to a gray.

"Is it really you, Ke'ri?" Father asked.

"Yes, it's me." I felt my voice shake. "It's really me..."

"Oh, Ke'ri! My daughter! We've missed you so much...!"

"Mother, Father!" I felt tears come to my eyes. "I'm so sorry if I caused you too much pain..."

"Don't be sorry. We're so happy that you're back somehow."

"How do you know it's really me?"

"A parent's instinct." Father proudly said. "It may be doubtful, but not everything's impossible if you believe it."

Our group hug ends, and Mother and Father glances around at the army. "Is that the Exalt of Ylisse?"

"Why, yes he is. I travel with the Shepherds." I smile proudly. "We've conquered evil in Plegia."

"Please don't put yourself in too much danger, Ke'ri..." Mother begged. "Please... losing you again would be too much."

"I promise, Mom. I promise." I replied.

"Thank you." my parents both said. "We're both so glad that you came back."

"Oh, and Lon'qu's here as well!" I say. "Hold on a second."

I run back to Lon'qu, who was standing off to the side. I grab his hand. "Come on!" I say. "My parents would be glad to see you as well!"

"They would...?"

"Don't worry!" I half dragged the swordsman towards my parents.

My parents took a moment to recognize the dark haired man. "You've grown so tall!" Mother said. "We're so sorry that we put all the blame on you for our daughter's death... We should have thought twice."

"..." he doesn't seem to know how to reply.

"But we're glad that you'll be there to take care of our daughter." Father continued. "Thank you."

"... But last time, I didn't do a good job of that." Lon'qu eventually said.

"We can always learn from past events." Mother said. "Please don't think too hard of it."

The swordsman finally smiles. "Thank you."

"Our daughter needs a good, strong man to protect her." Mother said, with a glint of humor and amusement in her eyes.

I froze, my face reddening. "Mother!" I look away. "No, I don't!"

"She does." Father said. "She's told us so much about you."

Lon'qu is chuckling as well, only adding up to my embarrassment. "I guess I'll be that strong man for her."

* * *

After a dinner provided by my parents and I, all the Shepherds are sitting in a wide circle around the town's bonfire, enjoying a time of temporary peace. The night was as pretty as all the other nights when Lon'qu and I used to stargaze.

Later into the night, when all the Shepherds were starting to retire and get a rest for tomorrow's march, Lon'qu stood up. "I'll be going as well. Good night, Ke'ri."

"'Night, Lon'qu. See you tomorrow."

I was the only Shepherd left out beside the dying fire. I shifted, my hands supporting my weight as I stretched out my legs. I felt something smooth under my left hand, and I saw that it was Lon'qu's journal again.

"He left his journal behind?" I muttered to myself. It was also open to a specific page, face down. So, I decided to read it. The journal was basically there, waiting to be read.

 _April 15_

"That's today." I say aloud. "Since when was he writing?"

 _I'm writing for you today, Ke'ri, just like all the other days I have been doing so. I'm glad that you're so happy right now._

 _Your parents seemed to be hinting at something... I wonder what it was. I want to talk to you in private. Meet me by the cherry tree?_

 _Lon'qu_

"Hmm." This sure was a strange message...

"Is that from Lon'qu?" I heard Mother ask. "Let me read it."

"Okay..." I gingerly hand the journal to her. "Just be careful with it. There's a bunch of other items that might fall out."

It takes Mother only a few seconds to scan the words on the page. Her eyes widen, but she smiles knowingly.

"Ooh... You should go talk to him. Ke'ri... do you have feelings for him?" Mother said in a hushed voice full of excitement.

Caught off guard by the sudden question, I feel myself stuttering on every word. "N-no, I-I-I don't!"

"It's okay, Ke'ri. You do, right? You can tell me anything. It's alright."

"... I like him. A lot. He trained so hard for me. I like every moment we spend together. I think about him too often. I've lied to him too much about my feelings, Mother. I just don't know if he thinks of me as a childhood friend like years ago, or if he thinks the same. I mean, I think he might, but I'm just really unsure."

"Just tell him. I'm sure he won't judge you." Mother took my hand. "Keeping these feelings bottled up won't do you any good."

"Alright. Thanks, Mother... I should talk to him now."

Mother only nods, a small smile still on her face.

I take one last look at Mother before I turn and walk to the cherry tree where Lon'qu and I have always met. At first, I didn't see anyone, but then I saw someone sitting, leaning against the tree, staring at the sky. I closed Lon'qu's journal and held it tightly. Anything could happen.

"... Lon'qu? I have your notebook."

His head turns, and I hand the journal back. Perhaps his hand brushing across mine is intentional, but it makes me jump.

"Y-you wanted to talk to me about something." I said.

"Yes, I did." he says. "... Remember when we always used to stargaze?"

"Yeah." I said. "Those times were great."

Silence reigns as we both stare at the stars above.

"You've been lying to me."

"H-huh?" I nearly jump again. I wasn't ready for the sudden topic change.

"Admit it." he says, but without any anger or annoyance. "Have you been lying to me?"

 _I might as well let out the truth... and along with that, my feelings._

"... Yes. Yes, I have..." I say, looking away to the left. "It was just because I thought you would think of me as a childhood friend, that maybe... I don't know."

Lon'qu sighs. "Listen. I don't want us to be childhood friends anymore... Do you know what I mean?"

"... Oh." _Maybe I lied to him one time too many? Or is it because..._

I'm pretty sure I know what he's implying, but I feel twinges of uncertainty. "I think... but I don't want to jump to false conclusions."

"I've never been able to truly get over your death. Every day, I've been trying so hard to be strong so people like you wouldn't die. But even through that, Emmeryn and Phila still died. All of these deaths tell me I have to get stronger, though I might never be. But you keep telling me that I'm good enough. And now that you're here again, I'm not sure of what to feel."

He takes a deep breath. "Ever since you came back to life, I've thought things differently. Maybe my life wasn't so unlucky after all. I have another chance to protect you. And this time, it's different. I will protect you, even if it's for my life."

"Please don't let it be for your own life, Lon'qu! If you died, I wouldn't know what to do."

He hesitates, taking an even longer pause than before. All the while, I'm constantly wondering: _What will he say? Is he leading onto what I think he might say? What is he thinking?_

"But... I love you, Ke'ri, and I wouldn't bear losing you again. Even as childhood friends, you've given me a family. I was an orphan. I was poor. And you didn't shun me like other kids did. I used to be alone, without friends. But you accepted me, and I was grateful for that. It wasn't until later that I continued to grow more attached to you, and when you died, I was heartbroken. That's why I blamed myself so much. I didn't know how much you meant to me, and when you came back to life, I finally realized. Do you... Do you think the same of me?"

Our faces are both blushing, and I feel my heart pound. "I'm so sorry for lying about my feelings. Lon'qu, I love you too." What was hiding my feelings was no longer. "I was worried that you still thought of me as just a friend, and I was always unsure. I want to protect you, too, and by this, I hope we can have a happy life together."

"Thank you. It's alright... I just wanted to know how you really felt about me." He leans towards me and gives me a kiss. Overjoyed, I give him a kiss back. He looks happier than ever, and with that, my smile widens as well as we gaze into each others' eyes.

We go back to gazing at the stars, just like we always did as friends. But this time, it's better. It's the start of a new life together. As I lean on Lon'qu's side, we need not talk to know how we feel about each other. No longer are we held by uncertainty.

I could call this the best day of my life.

* * *

"Hey, Ke'ri, wake up." I feel someone's breath on my ear, and I slowly open my eyes. Tired from the hours of stargazing, I yawn. Instead of leaning against the rough bark of the tree, I find myself staring up at the white cherry blossoms. I realized I was lying on Lon'qu's lap.

"Not yet... I want a few more minutes of sleep." I murmur.

I hear Lon'qu laugh, while he ruffles my hair. "Alright. A few more moments. It's early, so that's okay. But you're making my legs fall asleep."

He bends over to kiss my forehead, and I make a smile. "That is so un-Lon'qu of you."

"I know it is." he said, slightly indignant. It gives way to embarrassment. "If others saw us..."

"People are going to know soon. There's no need to be so embarrassed of it. Almost everyone else has a loved one with them, so why not you?"

"... Because..." he grumbled. "I don't know... And what about your parents?"

"Don't worry. We'll talk to them today." I laugh, knowing how it'll turn out to be. Finally deciding it was time to wake up, I sit up. Lon'qu stands up to stretch, stumbling a little.

He sighs. "Give me a moment... My legs need to wake up."

He helps me stand up. "Actually, I need to get you something."

"What is it?"

"Just come with me. You'll see."

* * *

I find myself staring at a small jewelry shop that I used to pass at the outskirts of the slums.

"It's the only shop I remember." he says.

Inside are dozens of necklaces and bracelets, but I know what Lon'qu was thinking of buying.

A ring.

"Well... which one would you want?" he asked me. "I should have found one earlier, but I forgot. We might as well find one together."

"Right." I look around, but I can't help but hear what others are whispering. My mind wanders from the glimmering, exotic jewels to the hushed murmurings of what could be a rumor or something.

"Isn't that Lon'qu?"

"Isn't he afraid of women? Who is he really buying the ring for?"

I see that Lon'qu is trying to ignore it, but it's difficult to do so. From the corner of my eye, I see that he's shaking slightly. He also seems to recognize these people, but I don't. Maybe he met these people... after I died?

"Hey, Lon'qu, trying to buy a ring for another man with a girl's help?" someone dares to ask.

"Hey! _You dare taunt him_?" I hiss, whipping around, my hand finding the sword at my side. "If you say another thing about him, _you'd better run_. He's not gay or whatever you might think. Now, mind your own business!"

At once, what the other men were thinking instantly thought. Finally minding their own businesses, I glance back at the rings, taking a deep breath to calm myself. "A simple one will do. I don't want to waste your money."

"If you insist, but you don't have to worry about that."

I eventually settle on a simple gold ring, and we both leave, paying the storekeeper (who also seems intimidated).

"You must know those people." I eventually say, seeing how Lon'qu stuffed his hands into his pockets, scuffing the ground rather nervously.

Lon'qu eventually sighs after a bout of silence. "Yes, yes I do. I barely remember them. But after you died... I met them. They knew I was afraid of girls. Until I left, they thought I was going to be gay."

"I'm so sorry." I sigh, looking to the side of the path.

"No, it's okay. But thank you for defending me."

"It wasn't a problem, Lon'qu. Anybody who taunts you will have to go through me first." I take a glimpse at the shiny gold ring on my finger now. I smile with pride, finally looking at him again. "We have a new life together. And I'll be glad to protect you, just like you to me."

I reach up on my toes and I give him a quick kiss on the cheek. His face blushes, but he does the same.

"You don't know how glad I am." Lon'qu shook his head. "I'm happy to have you at my side."

"Me too."

Joy blossomed, like a rose, through my heart. There was still much to do in this war, but at least there was something to wait for at the end for us both.

* * *

 **AN: I can't help but feel embarrassed about writing about love. Maybe I'm relating too much about the characters. I don't have any experience about writing love stories. Not much of it anyway. And when I wrote this last part, I kept feeling bad for Lon'qu. This always happens. The poor swordsman doesn't deserve to be taunted. He's damn awesome. He probably would have been one of my favorite characters in Awakening, other than Morgan, Nah, Cordelia, Robin, Severa, Owain, and Inigo (I like the last three because they're in Fates. And mentioning that, the one reason why I hate Birthright is because you can kill Inigo. I cannot imagine how Olivia and her husband must feel. I ended the chapter and killed Xander, sparing Inigo. I didn't kill him. It sounds selfish, but Inigo's too good to die. So is Xander, though...).**

 **Maybe that went too quickly, as when I have a lot of ideas, I tend to be impatient on writing. There's a lot to improve upon, so any suggestion would be welcomed!**

 **Anyway, I'll be starting the next chapter soon! And someone, give me suggestions for Ke'ri's son's name (haha, spoilers! But you probably would have guessed anyway based on Awakening's plot with the child characters.) I look forward for this... plenty of ideas in mind! Stay tuned!**


	11. Aura

**AN: Back again! Enjoy!**

* * *

Mother catches my eye and makes a smile while Lon'qu, unknowingly, confronts her. I stifle a giggle, and thankfully, the swords master is oblivious.

"Um... Te'ri..." he mumbles, suddenly interested in the ground.

"What is it, Lon'qu? Something wrong?" Mother asks.

"No... well... I wanted to tell you something concerning your daughter and I." Lon'qu says with great difficulty.

Mother takes a sip of the ginger tea that just finished boiling. The steam rises, curling and fading as it floats away.

"I'm not sure if you're going to take this nicely... but... um... Ke'ri and I are... engaged..."

She catches my eye again, and I grin silently.

"How could you?" she looks rather indignant. "Why?"

"I'm s-sorry... It's just that we l-love each other." Lon'qu blushes wildly, mumbling. " _Why must this be so difficult for me to say?_ "

But Mother bursts out laughing. "I'm joking, Lon'qu. I'm glad for you and my daughter. I trust you'll take care of her, right?"

"I will. I'll try my best."

"Good. It's finally time you two got to know each other's feelings. All this while, I've been watching... what was a childhood friendship became so much more beautiful... I'm proud of you two."

"Thank you." Lon'qu breathes.

"And you got a ring, Ke'ri." Mother takes my hand.

"I insisted on this one. I didn't want to use up his money." I explain.

"That's okay." Mother grinned. "I'm so excited for you two!"

We both nodded, and I could see Mother's pride shining in her eyes. "My daughter... all grown up..."

Father smiled warmly. He had been watching all this time, leaning against the wall near the small, cozy kitchen, where thousands of meals were cooked. Lon'qu always ate with us when we were younger. Ever since I found out that his only source of food were scraps of stale food, whether it be from the dumpster or not, I've insisted that he got a proper meal. The memories, though sad from the misery of slums, were times of happiness, when he and I used to spend time as best friends. But we were more than that now.

"Be safe, both of you." Father eventually told us, and I push the memories to the back of my mind.

"... I'll try my best."

 _But anything could happen._

* * *

It was soon time to leave and head towards the capital of Chron'sin.

"Bye, Mother and Father." I hug both of them. "I'll always be thinking of you both. Hopefully I'll be safe."

"Ke'ri..." Mother wept.

"Mother, don't worry. And even if something happens, it'll be alright." _Hopefully._

As we march away, I turn back twice, seeing the two fade slowly the further we get. The third time I look back, they're gone, and I sigh.

"It's alright, Ke'ri." Lon'qu says. "I'll keep you safe."

"It's not whether you can, it's whether I can take care of myself." I say. "I just can't shake the feeling out of my head, that something's going to happen to me."

"Relax. We can worry about that later. We worry on the present now. Don't let those thoughts worry you."

Reaching the rocky mountains, I find myself wondering about that mark again. I uncover a bit of it, and I shake my head.

 _It can't possibly be because of that._

* * *

Camp was set up near the capital of Chron'sin. Still unnerved at my thoughts, I excuse myself and walk through the forests. I just want to settle the uncertainty that roams my mind like the shadows of a sunset.

"You're not going alone." Lon'qu shook his head. He stood up as well, grabbing my hand so I would stop walking.

"Why?"

"... Anything could happen."

 _There's always going to be a little part of him that can't get over the death of my first life._

"Alright." I agree, and we find ourselves strolling down through the heart of the forest, with me picking interesting eaves and stones from the ground. Lon'qu walks by my side, hands in his pockets, deep in thoughts.

"I hate to say it as well, but you're right." Lon'qu muttered after a solid ten minutes of walking.

"Right about what?"

"About the fact that something might happen to you. After all, you were reborn, and that obviously never happens to any other person who dies."

"I still don't even know why I was reborn." I shrug. "And I still don't know what fate has in mind for me-"

Something makes me stop right in my tracks. Lon'qu hears it as well, and he unsheathes a killing edge.

The rustling gets louder, and I unsheathe a steel blade, ready to attack the enemy.

To our surprise, another swords master collapses out of the bushes, brown and purple clothes ragged and cut. Growing blood stains makes my heart leap, and Lon'qu looks horrified, the emotions starkly written all over his face. Maybe that's because it reminds him of his past memories. The way he described his thoughts made it seem that way.

More rustling sounds nearby, and the woman on the ground groans. With great desperation, she manages to utter a few weak words.

"... Help... me..."

The dark haired woman breathes heavily, and without another thought, I rush over to her side.

"There are enemies... after... me... W-would... you help... m-me?"

"Of course I would. We'll take you back to our camp to get your wounds treated as soon as possible." I decide, not taking in mind whether she could either be playing a trap, if she could be an enemy or not.

 _She does look familiar..._

"We're going to get you help." I say. "Lon'qu, you're strong enough. We should take her back to camp."

Upon hesitation, Lon'qu carries the woman back, and we both run from the nearby rustling. It fades, however.

"We're checking upon that later." I decide, before turning to the barely conscious woman. "What's your name?"

"My... name... is... Say'ri..."

* * *

As soon as the princess from Chron'sin is treated, Lon'qu and I, along with Robin, Chrom, and Lucina run back to the source of rustling. From hiding, we notice armor knights and cavaliers.

"Where has that princess went?" one of the knights was asking. "We injured her. Surely she can't be far from here."

None of us makes a sound, but somehow, we find an arrow whizzing past us, inches close to hitting Chrom's ear.

"Show yourself!" the commander spits, readying a weapon. It was a silver axe, bright and deadly.

Robin stands up, knowing we wouldn't be able to run away now.

"Where is the swords-master princess, if you've seen her?"

"Were you the people who hurt her?" Robin ignores the question thrown at him.

"She is a rebel of Chron'sin. We were told to target her."

"And who might you five be?"

Chrom hesitates. "We are the Shepherds, from Ylisse. And I believe you won't be able to find Say'ri. As I've heard, you soldiers are of the Yen'fay's and Walhart's empire. We cannot let you advance."

"What right do you have to say that in our land?"

"Justice does!" Lucina calmly said.

"Soldiers, attack!" the one in command shouts. All soldiers leap into battle, and our decision to go back to find them could have been nearly a bad idea; with only five of us, we were already outnumbered. Lon'qu and I fought back to back. Though I was unable to do much to the armor knights, but remembering I had magic on my side, I was able to cut through some armor with a fire-edged sword.

Melting some of the armor, Lon'qu was able to land finishing slashes on the weakened knights to render them unconscious. Chrom's and Lucina's Falchions glimmered in the pale sunlight that shone through the dense foliage above. Since Chrom had an Armorslayer in hand, he had an easier job of dealing with the defensive soldiers.

Robin, however, had the best advantage of powerful magic. Only two hits were needed to knock out the most defensive of knights.

Before I even register it, I am surrounded by five soldiers, somehow separated from the rest of my group.

 _How could I have gotten myself stuck in this mess?_

I start to slash at knights around me with a fire-edged blade, but taking on five at once is no easy feat. Getting knocked to the ground, I feel twinges of panic.

 _ **Relax. Calm yourself.**_

A distorted, familiar voice echoed through my mind. After weeks of not hearing that voice, I could barely believe who I heard.

 _It's Lena again! Where was she this whole entire time?_

Rolling out of the way from another hit, I take a deep breath. A sudden power flows through my veins, and with surprise, my blade glows with a dark aura. With a slash, one of the knights were knocked out. I take each of the other enemies before the dark aura fades.

It may have saved my life, but something about it made dread swirl in the pit of my stomach.

 _This could be bad, if I think I know why it happened._

* * *

 **AN: I know this chapter was short, but I felt it could kind of end there. I'll be starting the next chapter soon.**


	12. Impulse

Say'ri was treated quickly with Lissa's and Maribelles's help. Being the former princess of Chron'sin, we were astounded of the news she gave us. Her brother was in rule, and had allied with Walhart. Now, the country was being conquered under evil rule. But the most surprising information she gave us were that there were enemies of foreign clothing joining Conquerer Walhart and Emperor Yen'fay.

"Describe to us... what did they look like?"

"Black robes, purple markings... dark auras, some of them with powerful dark magic. There were also these strange creatures that rose to the ground. With vile breath and sluggish movements, and those red eyes, they were truly intimidating."

"Like... Risen. Ungodly creatures, those things are." Virion grumbled.

"The purple guys, did you know what they called themselves? They seem an awful lot like Plegians to me. But what business would they be doing here?"

"Plegians...? That sounds familiar. I did hear some ritual or chant. And I did hear that name." Say'ri recalled, looking at the ceiling of the tent in thought.

Silence.

"Yes, they named themselves the Plegians."

 _Plegians._

" _What?_ " Chrom and Robin both shook their heads.

Sully growled. "How? We sure should have to kick their arses again if they're up to more no good."

"But they let us borrow their ships!" Lissa reasoned. "What if they're just pretending to be Plegians?"

"They had these dark robes and outfits..." Say'ri recalled. "If these people are the Plegians that you know, we're heavily outnumbered."

"Why would they be here?" I asked. "They were already defeated, unless they have some kind of business here..."

My hand felt as if it was pulsing, and discreetly looking down, I realized it was from that mark Validar gave me.

"Excuse me..." I muttered quietly, walking out without trying to show a hint of panic or worry. Behind me, I hear Lon'qu; it has to be him.

"Lon'qu?"

"That's not me."

I turn around. "Oh, Robin! Sorry about that."

"No, no... that's alright." Robin shook his head, his snow-white hair ruffling in the slight breeze. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Ask away."

"What was glowing in your hand? It's still glowing anyway."

 _Wait. What the hell?_

"I don't know." I carefully turn my hand so that only I could see what was going on.

"It's something. Let me see."

"I can't!" I nearly shout, which makes Robin flinch. "Or else..." It sounded so irrational, but how would Robin understand?

"Or else what?"

"It'll hurt to say." I shake my head.

Robin sighed. "Just give me one word about it. It's okay to let me know. We're allies. Friends. There's no harm in letting me know. If others see that, and if you don't tell them what that's about, then they'll think you're being suspicious."

I already feel a pulsing pain in my hand. It's as if my hand is out of control. It unsheathes my sword. Robin's eyes widen as the blade was inches away from his neck. He almost leaps back immediately.

"Oh my gosh." I fight the strange impulses and drop the sword. "Robin, I'm so sorry. I had no control."

He grabs my hand.

"From Validar." I mutter quickly.

"I see..." A frown crosses his face. "Don't worry, Ke'ri. That mark is awfully similar to mine. One time, I had a dream of being possessed. It was, in fact, before I met Chrom. It was right before I woke up and saw him and Lissa bending over me, wondering why the hell I was lying, unconscious, in a field. It was more like a vision... that suddenly I couldn't control myself, and I stabbed him. He told me to run... and I still had no idea what happened."

He fell silent.

"But we're both in the same boat. Now I understand."

"Robin, what if I do this to someone else? What if I actually hurt them?"

"Chrom, Lon'qu, and I would be on your side. It's not your fault. It'll be fine."

I bite my lip. "I hope you're right."

* * *

It was time to move on once again. As much as I had wanted to believe Robin, that everything would be okay, I kept worrying about that vision he had. What if I killed Chrom? Or Robin? Or worse, Lon'qu? Or anyone on my side? It felt so realistic.

"Lon'qu, I don't know what to do." I pinched myself and hugged my arms tightly to myself. "What if I attack you?"

"Ke'ri... I know you worry about that. And I do, too. But you can't be paranoid. I know you wouldn't hurt me on purpose."

"No, well, if other people see me like that, they'll side against me!"

He shook his head. "I'm sure some would understand."

I fall quiet.

"I know. But the image of hurting people still bothers me. I almost hurt Robin."

"Stay strong, Ke'ri. The past cannot be changed. We can't give back that brand. But instead, we can only defeat Validar and maybe remove this... curse."

A small smile creeps onto my face. "You're right. Thanks."

* * *

"That's one cool guy." Kellam says, making us all jump.

"Who?"

"That Wyvern rider." Cherche looks up at the sky as well. "He's also coming towards us."

The man on the Wyvern lands on the ground, before spotting Cherche and Kellam, gaping at them.

"Mother...? Father...?" I hear him mutter ever so quietly. Cherche seems to tilt her head.

"You mean... me?" the dragon rider points at herself.

The man doesn't respond.

"Hmm... Can I see your Wyvern?"

"... Do as you wish..."

A pause ensues as Cherche leads her Minerva to the other wyvern.

"What? They're... the same! How? What? Exactly the same!" she looks at the man for answers.

"That's because they are."

A short conversation ensues before the new Wyvern rider lingers away from the main group. However, he eyes me, and walks towards me.

"Is... Is something wrong?"

"Yes. We must hurry." he then turns away.

 _Hurry for what?_

* * *

 **AN: Another short chapter... I hope to update soon.**

 **For the guest who commented: Keaton is awesome! However, I think Velouria is even better. Her mother in my latest Conquest playthrough is Charlotte. Giving her the Maid/Strategist class, Velouria can learn Tomebreaker. Also, Keaton and Velouria have insane Strength. Don't you love that?**

 **I don't remember if I shared my castle code, but if you want to see my castle (I have two separate games from two separate cartridges - stupid me, if I bought them both online, I wouldn't have cheated myself on the path bonuses...! - and thus, two different castles), please comment, and I'll post next time. I'm looking for battle and visit points, so I'll be happy to give you accessories!**

 **See ya next time! Oh, and please, PM me if you find any inconsistencies! I haven't touched this story in a while because of my extremely long hiatus (I'm so sorry...!), so if you find weird mistakes, I'll fix it (for instance, pairing errors). Thank you!**


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